Impavid
by HopeForDuende
Summary: To be strong is not necessarily in reference to having power and/or strength. It's possible that it could mean to be fearless, to be impavid. OC self insert. *Summary in progress, aha* Check it out :)
1. Prologue

I will keep this welcome brief as this is the prologue, but, **WELCOME! **Hugs and kisses! xoxo (unless you don't like that kind of stuff.)

If you haven't read the original first chapter, AN EVEN BIGGER WELCOME! IF you did, tell me if I should keep this or not :) {This is my first step in tidying up this story!}

**I DO NOT own Naruto. Only the idea of my OC.**

**Warning: Violence, blood, death. Skip if you want.**

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_Stop worrying about the world ending today. It's already tomorrow in Australia._

_~Charles M. Schulz_

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When she arrived home she was tired, exhausted. Nobody would ever know how she was still moving. Because she was so uncaring, so set in her ways, she had bothered to buy fresh groceries to make a gourmet meal for her soon to be husband.

It wasn't that she didn't care for him. She did, however little. Because of her life it was difficult for her to care about anything though. None the less she walked in the door prepared to make her _man _a meal he would love. The same as always.

He was waiting for her, perhaps a little on the peculiar side. The woman did not normally find him leaning against the wall. "Welcome home. Where've you been?"

"With your sister. The dress needed additions. She was adamant." The lady was not worried that he would react badly. They had enough money to afford upgrades. Even if they were unwanted. His eyes narrowed and he seemed angry at something.

The girl did not pick up on it. He was offended that his sister had _commanded_ _his wife_. He would have to… _speak_ to her about that. "Can I pass? Dinner won't be long."

He moved aside of course, but his fists were clenched at his sides when he did.

She made sure to cook the food very well that night. She may not have noticed his anger, but she certainly noticed the shudder that ran through the air when she passed him.

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They had given her a full length mirror.

And she was staring at it.

And she was crying.

She had not cried for years.

Her dress was flawless, to her perfection. It was over the top but somehow she still adored it.

When it was time for her to walk down the aisle, her father was nowhere in sight. He had died long ago. Instead her soon to be stepfather held her arms and gave her a proud glance.

The doors opened and she smiled immediately. There he was, the man of her future. She had wished for this day at one point, when she was far younger. But now that she was here it was all coming back.

Her smile grew and as contagious as it was all the people standing grinned with her. They all sent her congratulatory and overjoyed looks and she hurried her pace to the alter. She could not wait.

He wasn't… smiling. He was happy, she could see it in his eyes. That was enough for her, so she went through the vows.

Promising to protect him, love him and cherish him.

He promised to never let her go, love her and keep her safe.

Promises that would never be broken until forever ended.

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They drove towards where the party would be held. She barely fit her big wedding dress skirt into the luxury car her husband picked. He wasn't talking and she was glad. She enjoyed silence.

When the man suddenly leaned forward she frowned. "Stop the car."

She began to panic. He seemed very angry. She had not once seen him _abusively _angry. Only ever frustrated by work or random things.

"We're going for a walk." He turned to her and began shoving her out of the car. She went along with it, he was her husband.

They walked for a bit at a quick pace until finally they slowed down. It had grown dark and she wasn't sure where they were, but fairly positive they were heading the right way.

"It's a nice night." She began. "But It's hurting to walk in these shoes. I'm sorry to ask but are we nearly there?" Her voice dropped off into quiet tones. She hated complaining.

He fluttered inside and turned to her, stopping them both. "You're so perfect."

Her husband had no emotion on his face when he said it, and she barely saw the… something deep in his eyes. "Thanks." She mumbled shyly.

That was it. He was decided.

The man grabbed the woman's hand and led her through a few turns into an open building. It was planned many months ago. He set her on a stool and told her he would be back.

She sat in the darkness. The room was clean, but where she sat had no carpet and was simply cement. Why had he brought her here?

The man returned and something glinted in his hands too quickly for her to see. "You're perfect. I love you."

"I love you too." She said without fear. "But I can't see you right now and we will be late to the party. We may miss our own cake." She tried to joke lightly but her voice faded off.

He looked at her, the moon shining on her like she was the only thing in the world. He loved her. He wanted her. He _had her_. With their wedding complete she was his. By law.

So he knelt down and ran his fingers through her hair. "I won't let anyone else touch you, order you around. No one will hurt you again."

She was comforted of course. She didn't know.

He watched her then, the silence growing thick as she stared at him with confused eyes but unafraid eyes.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

"I love you." He said simply before slamming the bat into her arm.

It glinted in the moon, it's metal clean and shiny before being smeared with blood as it broke her arms and legs.

She did not scream, she was too shocked for that.

Simply scampering into the corner as he broke every finger, every toe, every leg and every arm. He avoided the worst spots. the areas that would kill her.

He stood back finally. It had felt like hours to the woman.

Her arms lay useless at her sides and her eyes were red and puffy from tears. Her cries came out strangled and weak from the pain.

He loved her. He wouldn't let anyone else command her. He would have her forever.

Her eyes met his again.

Blink.

Blink.

He pounced forward grabbing her although it wasn't necessary. She couldn't move, about to pass out from the pain. He ran his fingers up her legs. The legs that he owned.

She didn't know what was about to happen.

And she didn't _want _to know.

But she found out.

Blink.

He stood, pleased with himself. She had been his for years but now it was about to be definite.

The girl could have sworn as she watched the man in the corner of her eye, that someone stood by the door of the building. Dark hair flickering once from the moonlight before moving behind the wall.

Someone was _protecting _him.

She felt as though she would be sick.

Her legs were trembling under the blood as he crept forward again. Her prized wedding dress long ruined from rips and tears.

The promises.

The promises she prized. She had never had anything solid in her life until he came, but it seemed her luck had ended.

He seemed to be thinking along the same lines, for the last thing he said to her was like a knife to her heart. "I promise to protect you forever."

Then the metal bat no longer glinting, it's shiny metal covered in blood, came down upon her head.

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The young boy looked upon his new option with great pity but extreme hope. He swiftly picked her and began arranging everything. In a burst of generosity he gave her a few extra _goodies_.

She would have a hard second life. But it would be entertaining for him, and hopefully not as bad as her first.

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(im-PAV-id): adj. from Latin impravidus, from in- (not) and pavidus (fearful): not afraid; fearless.

_Do not spend your time being afraid, instead, become strong so that you are fearless._

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See you next chapter! Things aren't as dark! xoxo


	2. Born: I: Meeting my father

**Summary:** To be strong is not necessarily in reference to having power and/or strength. It's possible that it could mean to be fearless, to be impavid. OC self insert.

Well, uh, hello I suppose. That's adequate to start a story, correct? Well this is a self insertion story that won't be based on my personality too much, perhaps my beliefs and actions I would do, but who knows? I'll keep this A/N short so you can read the first chapter, we can get to know each other after each chapter :D

I'd like to express my extreme appreciation at how you, the reader (or if you'd like leave a review so I know your username), bothered to look upon my story. So, in other words, THANK YOU!

**I DO NOT own Naruto. Only the idea of my OC.**

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(im-PAV-id): adj. from Latin impravidus, from in- (not) and pavidus (fearful): not afraid; fearless.

_Do not spend your time being afraid, instead, become strong so that you are fearless._

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It was painful, scary and confusing. I won't elaborate on the pain, but I _will_ tell you, the mind of a newly created life is compact and limited. There were things it shouldn't be able to do and everything I seemed to do contradicted this fact. The pain from this was simply excruciating. My brain was trying to cope with something it simply couldn't understand, let alone tolerate.

So it did the only thing it could which was to make it feel as though my entire body, however small, was frozen.

Not the nice kind of frozen which was the extreme cold that was sort of comforting and tolerable. No, this was like when something was so cold it burned.

It was scary because it was dark, utterly devoid of light. Confusing because in the first place I shouldn't even be able to comprehend any of this. My brain wasn't developed enough it shouldn't even be functioning so coherently. I shouldn't be _thinking_.

So I did the only thing I could. I lashed out with my limbs however underdeveloped. Kicking, punching and simply just_ jerking_ them. When I'd first done it I hadn't expected a response. I didn't exactly _know_ I was a baby at such time, but I certainly knew something was wrong with my body. I just didn't know _what_ was wrong.

Suffice to say, when I received a response my little brain couldn't comprehend it. It wasn't very personal like someone rubbing my back soothingly, it was distant. A voice, and a rather distant pressure. I would soon realize it was my mother patting her stomach to soothe me.

At the time I froze, stunned. What was that sound? And why was it so quiet? But it's effect was obvious to me. Immediately the voice calmed me. My thoughts quietened and I stopped thrashing. Normally I would have been bothered by this, such a sudden change in mood, but all the movement I'd done had resulted in me being far too exhausted to worry about it.

The next time I 'woke' It felt as though I was slightly more capable. Slightly better to be able to handle so many thoughts that shouldn't be possible. The first I tackled was simply how to deal with it all. I'd need to decide exactly which thought I wanted to follow, and which thought I could put away for later. In the end, it seemed that was enough for me to think about as exhaustion once again swept over me.

I decided upon priorities. The first were the errant thoughts that… wouldn't take much thinking. So I began with the question: where was I? The memories that I knew I should have just weren't there. So I decided I was somewhere. That was a good start considering normally when I thought it would end in me thrashing around like a madman.

I found it odd I could remember words, phrases, feelings and proper reactions. I contemplated it the next time I wasn't so utterly exhausted, perhaps they were so ingrained that even in this state I could still retain that knowledge.

And so I continued thinking and waking… and thrashing. I still became panicked or stressed often, so the best way to deal with it was thrash until I was being soothed by the voice. Well there were two voices now. One considerably lower in pitch than the other, however, both were equally calming.

When there was a change it wasn't a pleasant one. It was easy to figure out my mind was changing I was able to sense things like temperature and movement. This alone made me more confused as it seemed I was constantly moving.

I was brought back to my knowledge of where I was. Clearly I wasn't moving myself, so it was a good guess that I was _in_ something moving.

Which only ended in me having far more questions to solve.

At some point, probably months later, my familiar space that I was used to was ruined. Everything began squeezing, contorting as it grew darker.

There was more pain, more than normal. I won't go into details of the events that followed. Everything became lighter, the unnatural and sudden change made me want to cry.

And I did.

I cried, mourning for my familiar space, the familiar darkness and surroundings. I mourned over the missing silence. _Things_, hands, touched me and lift me. They moved my limbs and tapped my chest. No matter how much I thrashed my soothing voices were nowhere to be heard.

It was so loud, so bright. Too much to take in. I ended up wailing myself to sleep, being that it was my only escape.

When I woke, it was far more comfortable and less noisy. Not as many things were going on. There certainly was more noise than my chamber, but it certainly wasn't the horror it was before.

After a few minutes of consciousness, I _sensed_ someone entering the… room. By sensed, I actually mean I felt their presence. Like an energy with it's own personality. Green and precise, perhaps a little pedantic. A face entered my view, leaning over the medical cot I was in. His face was blurry. My newborn eyes were barely able to notice the finer details.

Nonetheless it was enough to tell the person was a he and that he had glasses. The man's dark hair was tied in a tight ponytail, barely visible as he turned back and forth assessing me. He then picked me up, more tugging on my fragile limbs. But I didn't cry. Instead I stared at him curiously as he checked my well being.

Once he seemed satisfied, I was hauled out of the cot with seemingly no effort and wrapped in a plain white blanket. Which was surprisingly annoying. With my newfound curiosity, I wanted to look around and see where we were going. But the blanket obscured most of my vision and I wasn't strong enough to sit up and look over it's edges.

So I resulted to staring at the ceiling. It was your normal ceiling, as far as I knew. White with lights every couple of meters. We turned a few corners the face above me seemed uninterested and bored. I didn't blame him, it must be rather boring carrying babies around.

We took one last turn and stopped in front of the door. Something moved below me, the mans hand. He knocked first, the sound reverberating in my ear painfully. Then the door was opened and just over the brim of the blanket, I saw a new man.

Like before, I'd sensed him. He seemed more like a blue tinged white around the edges, if I were to decide by color. The energy seemed warm and highly contagious. Something I definitely was going to gravitate myself towards.

Then they spoke. The man holding me talked first, the words were as confusing as everything else. Whether it was because I hadn't developed enough, _grown_ enough, to understand speech. Or, the more likely, I simply didn't understand the words they spoke. A different language.

Even so, when the other man spoke, I couldn't contain my joy. It was his voice. The other voice that soothed me in my long lost chamber. Thus, when I was being passed to him, I met his eyes with a huge smile.

From what I could make out, his hair was white, _fluffy_ and long. It was tied behind his head loosely and the tufts that fell onto his forehead were held back with his headband. His face was adoring as he smiled back at me, his eyes were of a dark color, but warm even so.

As I snuggled into his arms I reached a hand weakly up, my fingers moving slightly as I tried to grab at him. Instead, he reached down with a hand taking mine in his.

The moment was so touching, I was tempted to cry. Instead he looked up resentfully from me and spoke to the man again, the _doctor_ I realized. The doctor nodded and left, saying a word over his shoulder, some kind of goodbye.

Then the man looked at me again, and we were trapped in each others stare for a long time under the doorway. Only broken when I yawned unintentionally.

He chuckled at my yawn, his eyes alighting in amusement and rocked me in his arms. He muttered more words before my eyes closed on their own, the slow rocking pulling me into a happy slumber.

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When I woke the man was sitting in a chair within the room. He seemed to be sleeping lightly. Not wanting to disturb him, I remained quiet and simply admired him. His hair seemed so darn fluffy and with my curiosity I couldn't stop from reaching for it.

My hand had only moved a few inches when his eyes shot open. He didn't jump or anything, just opened his eyelids alarmingly fast. I'm not sure why, but it scared me and I dropped my hand immediately and tried to fight the burning in my eyes.

He blinked once, composing himself. Then a doting smile appeared on his face and he said more words that I didn't understand. It didn't matter. It still soothed me.

When he finally broke the loving gaze we were sharing, he reached to his side and I heard something move. His hand came into my line of sight, holding a bottle.

I scrunched my nose and turned my head as much as I could. The liquid inside looked disgusting. My neck seemed rather weak, so my head was hard to move.

The man said a few words then clicked his tongue and put the bottle down. I waited a few more moments before turning back.

He was there again, doting on me. His eyes were slightly troubled and I didn't know why. He wasn't troubled before…

The door opened slowly, it's creak a simple giveaway. The man holding me turned to see who had entered and his smile only slightly shrunk. So he still liked the person then.

Words were exchanged and I so badly wanted to understand them. But all I could do was slowly watch as my fathers expression became serious and slightly irritated. He said some more words in a firm tone, resulting in the door being closed and whoever was there leaving.

He sighed before looking back down at me. When I reached up with both hands he frowned. I managed to put my fingers in my mouth and hold my hands out again, but he didn't understand. Oh, how I hated being unable to communicate.

I resigned to simply falling asleep, my frustration exhausting me far faster than I would like.

When I next woke the man was holding me again. He offered me the bottle once more and I did not protest this time. Anything to make him less sad I suppose.

What he fed me was disgusting. It was thicker than milk but tasted similar. The thing I hated was how it had been warmed. Just _gross_.

I did not stop drinking until he chuckled and pulled the bottle away from me. To my utter relief he seemed far happier than earlier. He set the bottle down and bounced me up and down lightly until, to my horror, I burped.

My face didn't burn as much as I thought it would, but it still blushed. The man seemed to find that rather amusing. He cracked up laughing, head swinging back and letting out a loud laugh that seemed rather musical.

He stopped as soon as I wailed once. His eyes flashed to me and a guilty looked flashed across his face. He mumbled some words and then kissed my forehead.

It was… weird. He was just so big. But still, it seemed so sweet when he planted that kiss. It did not scare me, even though it probably should.

There was more rocking and soothing words. Annoyingly I began to drift off to sleep as well, which seemed hardly fair. But then again time did seem to fly when I was with the man and his adoring gaze.

I woke up yet again. The man was no longer on the chair, instead he was lying on a bed next to me. I was in a cot surrounded by clear walls. I hoped that as long as I could see him, I wouldn't panic.

It was quite useful that the hall lights were constantly on, so enough of it was streaming into our room. Restlessly I scrunched and released the blanket I was lying on. When I grew tired of that, I went about thinking again.

The first voice I'd heard hadn't appeared in at least a few days. So that either meant she was a figment of my imagination… or she was gone. I wasn't sure which one to hope for.

Unfortunately, that brought on a bout of crying, waking the man. It seemed like there would be something better to call him. Hopefully I would figure it out soon enough. Even so he woke up quickly and dashed over to me. He pulled me out of the cot and held me against his shoulder until I cried myself to sleep once again.

Things were eventful the next time I woke. It must have been early afternoon for my father was cradling me in his arms near the rooms window. I quietly peered out of it so as not to alert the man. The window looked out into a park, the leaves were a bright green and as they rustled with the wind. The light glinted off them in a lovely way.

My attention changed when the man said a few words quietly. I yawned as I turned to him, making him laugh lightly. He waited a few moments before talking to me. He got up from the ledge he had been sitting on and clutched me close to his chest. His arm left me for a moment to open the door then we headed out of the room I'd grown used to.

My blanket had been changed. It was no longer white having been replaced by a fluffy blue blanket. The changed confused me until we stepped up to some sort of reception desk. He removed his arm again and I heard the scratching of pen against paper and exchanging of words.

It made sense then. We must have been in a hospital and the white blanket I'd grown fond of had been returned. Although, I was growing rather fond of this new blankets fluffiness.

The man carried me through a door… and another three doors. After the last of which we stepped into blinding light. It wasn't too bad, having grown used to indoor lights, the bright sun wasn't too stark of a change.

We were walking fairly quickly, the mans pace rushed for some reason. I listened to the loud noises we passed. Conversations were buzzing all around so I figured we were on a rather popular path.

So much noise, I'd never experienced this. It made me want to cry again but I knew I shouldn't. Not when the man was clearly trying to get somewhere quickly without stopping. Carefully I calmed myself. Listening to the man's heartbeat and breathing seemed to do the job.

It was around that time I realized I was an infant. A small, helpless newborn being. It answered quite a lot of questions I'd had. Why wasn't I walking for myself? Why was I constantly being carried? Why did I want to cry all the time? No wonder I was so _small_. So _helpless_.

Then, if I was a baby, and this man had fed me, cleaned me and cared for me so far.

That meant he was my father.

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Well, that's the end of the first chapter, or if you prefer, prologue. To recap, the main character (Yet to be named, feel free to suggest one if you'd like I was thinking Miyuki, because it means *beautiful happiness* apparently) was born and cared for around four days before the father and her left to head to their new home.

I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to continuing this with you all. Expect updates hopefully at least once a week. Perhaps slightly over, or slightly under. Depending on real life.

Of course, if you have any suggestions regarding format, writing style, grammar, story plot or other things feel free to leave a review or PM me, it's always appreciated :)

**Question: Who do you think the father IS? And what was he so upset about when he talked to the mystery person?**

~I apologise, writing a babies actions is something new to me so I hope it's satisfactory. Do expect at least slightly better chapters to follow (hopefully.)~


	3. Growing: I: My Brother

Summary: To be strong is not necessarily in reference to having power and/or strength. It's possible that it could mean to be fearless, to be impavid. OC self insert.

Well, I'm glad you've continued on to the next chapter! I hope that's because you are interested in this story, or at least enjoy reading it. Perhaps both aha! Thank you everyone for the 86 views, 8 followers and 4 favorites! Huggles for all of you! =^.^= xoxoxoxoxo

I'd like to express my extreme appreciation at how you, the reader (or if you'd like leave a review so I know your username), bothered to continue reading my story. So, in other words, THANK YOU!

**I DO NOT own Naruto. Only the idea of my OC.**

_Edit~~ Have updated chapter so the age is a bit more realistic- thanks to CeresMaria for pointing it out! IDK why I didn't pick up on this, I had the baby milestone site open! I'm such a dinglewit hehe xoxo ^.^ Hopefully I got everything but I'll check it again tonight just in case. (How did I fail spelling __**off**__? And why didn't I pick it up? QQ)_

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_When people meet they say first impressions count most. Perhaps it's different with family._

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His steps slowed as though he was nervous. It's normal quick rhythm stuttered and shifted so instead it was messy and uncoordinated. However we still managed to make it up the two flights of stairs and exactly one corner before we stood in front of a door.

Father hesitated for a few moments, which was enough time for me to realize that I sensed someone _else_. Their color was similar to my dads, but there was far less white tinging the edges.

Once he sorted out whatever it was that needed to be sorted, father let go of me. I'm not quite sure how he managed it, but he held me in one arm as he reached into his pockets and found the keys. He then unlocked to door and it swung open.

The first thing that happened was my father began to quickly speak words. It was as though he was trying to stop someone from running away. The next was him turning me, so my face was hidden in his chest. Father then took a few steps, I assume he turned to close the door as I heard another audible squeak.

The other presence was still there, it hadn't moved yet. Father took two more steps then faltered.

Rushed words in an angry tone, the voice was deep, but still quite high pitched. A young boy then, I concluded. When he stopped his rant, or whatever it was, father said exactly two things that I'd soon learn meant, "I'm sorry."

It was though everyone released a breath they didn't know they were holding. Soon the presence began moving. Closer. I heard as the boy took tentative steps towards us.

Father said a few words when the boys steps paused, he then turned me so I could see his face. He gave me a smile, as though everything would be okay. I believed him.

He lowered me down slowly, into the boys awaiting arms. At first I wasn't sure what to expect. But when his face came into my vision I couldn't miss the resemblance. The boy had a face quite like fathers. His eyes were dark and his hair a white fluffy mess atop his head.

When our eyes met, his mouth dropped open slightly. His eyes lit with… something. Perhaps joy like fathers. I couldn't really tell. I stared at him with a smile slowly growing on my tiny face. And soon he was smiling as well.

Father said something distantly and the boy was barely affected. Father repeated what he said and the boy chuckled. I frowned at the conversation I hadn't understood. The boy tilted his head then said a string of words in a soothing tone.

Eventually we moved, my eyes never leaving his face. He would glance down at me occasionally whilst we moved. I heard fathers strong steps guiding us up ahead. We went up a small flight of stairs and turned at the second door. It was slid open and the boy entered still carrying me. He sat down and held me carefully so I wouldn't be too jostled.

Father said some words then left and I gazed at the boy, frowning. He repeated the words to me and I simply grew more confused. After a few moments of staring at each other, I grew bored. The attention span of a baby was beginning to annoy me.

The boy realized as I began to fidget that he needed to do something. He looked around the room, panicking slightly. More words and then he was standing and walking me around. I suppose he was giving me a tour.

He balanced me upright so I could see. The first thing he did was walk around the room we were already in. I soaked it all in like a sponge.

The chair was blue with brown stripes. There was a cot in the middle of a room with white details like ribbons and lace. The side wall had wall paper like the others, white with pink and blue spots now and then. It also had a few photos hung up on it.

Finally there was a shelf built into the front wall, with books on the lowest shelf. That made sense. I was a baby after all and if those books fell from a higher height…

It also held a few toys and my hands twitched at the sight.

The boy had been watching my face as I took everything in. When I turned back to him he had a very amused expression on his face. I suppose my reactions were highly entertaining.

He was clearly about to move onto the next room, but I interrupted him with a very lengthy yawn. He blinked a few times then laughed and took me over to the cot, placing me down gently and adjusting my blue blanket so it fit better.

The boy then said a few soothing words as he moved and sat in the chair. This cot wasn't clear so I couldn't see him, but I could feel his presence. The lovely blue tinged with faint white that made me feel_ safe_. I drifted off to sleep fairly quickly, thinking about the boy and my father.

I was shaken awake gently and slowly, my eyes opening to see my father with a bottle. It had been warmed. Drat. I shuddered internally but let him take me out and hold me as he fed me. How could I tell him to stop warming it? Such a shame I couldn't communicate.

After I'd drunk the amount I thought he wanted me to, he… _burped_ me again and we went through the same: laughter, embarrassment, guilt and forgiveness thing. But I ended up happier than I had been before, and I think he was too.

The boy wasn't here that day, and I didn't know why. He seemed young, he couldn't be at school or something alike yet could he?

Even so, father and I had fun. The morning sun streamed through the sliding door, the closest window being in the hallway. Father helped me play with a ball today. I was allowed to hold the soft and tiny thing in my hands and he would roll it along my exposed stomach making me giggle.

My laugh seemed to be contagious, for he would too laugh when I did. The ball was crinkly and made odd sounds, I distantly remembered a term for it. Cellophane. Father seemed rather pleased I was playing with the ball, I suppose he'd been worried about my development.

I had refused that bottle the first time, and it wasn't like I responded to his words.

It seemed I'd stayed awake longer than normal, for when I fell asleep in my cot the sunlight was no longer a bright white, more of a slightly darker yellow.

When I woke it was upon my own terms, I heard sizzling nearby, but nothing was in my vision. Panicked I reached out, searching for those energies. I found two, the boys downstairs and fathers. He was rushing towards me. When he slammed open the door I began crying and he quickly picked me out and rocked me, cooing and shushing me.

I'm not sure what I did to cause his reaction, but he had clearly been disturbed when I searched for his energy. Perhaps that was a rude thing to do. I made a note not to do it again.

Father didn't put me down in the cot, instead he walked me downstairs and held me against him. We stopped and he sat down after pulling a stool out. I saw the boy standing near some kind of a stove and I froze.

He was too young, this couldn't be safe? But there he was, cooking on a stove. The entire situation suddenly began scaring me, so I burrowed my face in fathers chest and he rubbed my back hesitantly. I heard the boy put down what he was holding and walk around the bench, standing near us. Words were exchanged and I was suddenly being placed in the boys hands.

Father got up and went to the stove to my relief. The boy that held me was staring at me curiously. His eyes narrowed after a moment and he closed his eyes in concentration. All of a sudden, a huge surge of his energy spread throughout the room, scaring me senseless. I don't remember much except my following episode of screaming, crying and of course thrashing.

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I slept for too long, that was clear to me. When I woke it was early morning, given the amount of shadows versing rising light. My body ached and my limbs were sore. Over the few days I'd been alive, my body had grown slightly stronger. My neck was easier to move, my arms less clumsy and my legs were… well they were coming along. But all that seemed to be a waste because I couldn't move anything. It was all so sore.

No one was in the room again, and I didn't dare try to sense for energies. Firstly, I was worried I'd scare father again. Secondly, I was worried I'd feel the boys chakra _everywhere_ again.

So I waited, which wasn't too difficult because I was still exhausted. I sort of stayed in a half sleep until I heard movement.

The door slid open and the boy appeared, he was tall for his age and could see over the cot relatively easily. When our eyes locked his gaze was troubled and sad. He mumbled words that I didn't understand before moving to sit on the chair.

The next few weeks passed quickly. I was sleeping more often to recover from whatever the energy surge was. Father seemed worried as well as the boy, but I tried my best not to cry or do anything to worry them more.

I just needed rest.

The week passed, mostly in darkness and me sleeping. When I finally woke without any aches and pains I found myself rather… agitated. There was something filling my body, and I didn't like it. It wasn't painful, yet, but it was foreign to me and confusing. I'd never experienced anything like it.

When father came in and saw me rubbing my stomach in an attempt to get rid of the itch, he chuckled and picked me up. He mumbled more words and to my surprise I understood some of them. I'd grown, learned or _something_ I suppose. It was a miracle.

Although it was only one or two, it was a start. "Don't worry… Happens… Natural." That was about it.

Thankfully I picked up words that seemed important. With my unexplainable knowledge I figured that what was happening to me, happened to most people. Perhaps everyone.

That night, was the worst I'd ever experienced. The itching feeling that I was growing interested with, turned to pain. It was as though things were climbing through my body, spreading and growing in spaces that shouldn't have anything.

It was excruciating, and everyone within a few miles would of known it.

I wailed and wailed, thrashed and thrashed. Father came in quickly and simply held me as I thrashed in his arms. The thing spread and filled, it's contents seemed as though they were sharp and cutting. Shredding my insides to pieces.

At some point the pain cleared enough for me to realize that the thing growing in me was energy. Like fathers and the boys. I could feel it.

The pain went late into the night and the next morning, subsiding before lunch time. Almost as soon as it was gone I was asleep, exhausted from my nights tortures.

There were words though, before I drifted off. I suppose the boy had finally grown the courage to enter the room. He walked over to father, his padded steps slow and exhausted. Father said something. "...Morning… Phase… Done."

The boy replied. "Good… Odd."

Father replied again. "Don't worry… won't… Kakashi."

Kakashi? The boy began to leave and father called to him. "Kakashi?"

How had I not picked this up sooner? His name was Kakashi. "... Father."

Oh. Father. So, Kakashi was my brother then?

"You've done well." I understood in its entirety.

Kakashi flustered for a moment, without a word he turned and left. The sliding door signalling his escape.

Fathers sigh was the last thing I heard before drifting off to sleep.

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The next months passed rather quickly. Most of the time I was either in my fathers arms or Kakashi's. They would read me stories that I couldn't understand. Kakashi would tell me about his day. Again I couldn't understand. It frustrated me so often that I couldn't understand things. Which is probably why I slept so much. As a baby there isn't much to do but sleep, think and try to move. Well at least that's what I did.

Finally late into the fifth month of my life things changed. It was a gradual change of course. My neck and back were stronger, which let me sit up on my own for small periods of time. My arms were no longer useless sausages at the side of my body. I could actually _lift _them.

After my foul breakfast, Kakashi came into the room. He walked quickly up to the side of my cot. The sight of his face made me jump slightly and he laughed. "... Morning. Didn't… Scare…"

He picked me out of the cot and lowered me to the ground. My blanket was forgotten in the cot which left me… Wait. when did they change me?

I was dressed in what seemed to be a tight fitting panda kigurumi. I resisted the urge to squeal when I felt the ears atop my head.

Don't even get me started on the paws.

A-freaking-dorable!

Noticing my discovery, Kakashi grinned widely and rubbed my head. I scowled at him but he only continued rubbing until I swatted weakly at his arm.

My brother turned and grabbed a board from behind him, placing it in between us. He said words. Unfortunately I didn't understand any of them.

At my confused look he sighed and began showing me how to play. The board was divided into squares and he had an assortment of colored cubes. It seemed the aim was to line up four of the color in a row. Simple enough.

Kakashi began, placing a green square. I placed a pink the opposite end. He frowned at my move, but placed another green one next to his already placed one.

Hmm. I blocked it off with my pink one.

He gave me an annoyed glance before placing down another square. I did the same and we repeated this process until there was only one more square to fill.

I'd managed to block most of his rows off. But unfortunately he was the one with the last piece.

Surprisingly, he didn't overly celebrate his win other than smiling smugly for a second and clearing the board. We began again.

This time I won.

Kakashi seemed kind of surprised, but he began the next match with heavy determination.

It was on.

He place his green square top right.

I placed mine top left.

Our eyes locked.

He slammed his down next to mine and I copied. I flashed him a look, as though saying 'whatcha gonna do 'bout that? Brother.' My lips curled evilly.

Kakashi's right eye twitched.

Our moves were almost immediate, he placed strategically but I would place just as well. We were down to the last few blocks and it didn't take me long to figure out who would win.

I would block his last row, but he had another going. He'd place there… And I'd have to go there… Which left him with-

No!

Kakashi must have figured it out as well, for he was looking at me with a rather annoying smug grin.

Furious, I swept my tiny arm out in an attempt to wipe the board, but the pieces didn't move. Confused, I looked up to see the entire board surround in his blue energy.

Cheater.

I lunged at him like a ferocious tiger. My arms pushed me off the ground as I aimed for his throat.

Only to fall on my face.

_Oh right. Baby equals tiny._

Both of us were stunned. Kakashi had dropped his energy and made a move to care for me. The pain washed through my chin that had taken the brunt of the blow.

When he was about to pick me up I snapped up and swept the pieces off the board.

Ha! Beaten by a baby. I turned to him, 'How do you like that?'

I was getting rather good with looks.

Kakashi just stared at me blankly, blinking a few times. I don't think he really understood what had happened.

And that's how father found us. He walked in, saw me on the floor with a red chin and Kakashi looking stunned. I lifted myself up and held my arms out for him.

He lifted me up in his arms, taking Kakashi's hand in his other. He took us downstairs to the kitchen and pulled out some ice for my chin.

Kakashi was finally composed and was sending death glares at me. I simply smiled innocently back.

Again, he just got beaten by a two month old.

Wrecked.

"What happened?" Father finally asked after I was lying comfortably in his arms.

Kakashi sighed and looked to the floor. He spoke but I couldn't catch many of the words. Something about colors.

Father looked at him and back to me before cracking up laughing. His entire body was shaking with the sound and Kakashi was fuming in embarrassment. If I weren't so tired I probably would have joined in with the laughing, but it would of been more of a gurgle if I had tried.

When he stopped laughing he wiped the tears from his eyes and kissed me on the forehead. He did the same to a reluctant Kakashi before taking me back to my cot.

He checked me over again before setting me down in my cot. I suppose he was satisfied with my chin. Good. I didn't particularly want a scar or anything.

I heard him talk to Kakashi as the two left the room. They slid the door closed and turned for the lights. Well, if that wasn't a signal for me to go to sleep I didn't know what was.

My eyes close instantly and I yawned right before falling asleep.

Kakashi was there again in the morning. He wasn't a sore loser.

Perfect.

I will be beating him rather often.

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A few weeks later Kakashi came in wearing a kigurumi like mine.

It was a bunny.

A pink bunny onesie.

My brother was wearing a pink bunny onesie for his pyjamas.

What...

He picked me out of the cot, wishing me a good morning. It seemed Father was sitting in the chair so he took me over to him to get fed. Once that was all over Father sat down with Kakashi and I. A sheet of paper with sums and characters on it was laid neatly on a piece of tile.

Father took a pencil and began completing the first sum. He explained some things to me although none of it was really necessary. I could pretty much do the whole thing already, except for those weird characters at the end.

I sat patiently as he handed me the pencil. I wasn't sure about child development, but maybe I shouldn't answer these so soon? Oh well. I shrugged internally and began filling in the questions. It took me a while to get the characters right, in the end they weren't easily readable but I was only a baby. They were simple addition and subtraction questions with a multiplication problem at the end.

The questions were written in odd characters as well. I had to infer from what Father had done and the characters written at the top of the page. I guess they were all the numbers in order. Anyway, I got the first three done eventually.

I looked up after writing six for the third answer to see Father wide eyed. I frowned at him and felt as though I was going to cry. I hated seeing father so… confused.

He noticed my expression of course and gave me a smile. I could easily see the confusion still deep in his eyes.

I made a conscious effort not to answer the questions so easily anymore.

Kakashi left around the sixth question that I was 'stuck' on. He said goodbye to father, hugging him. Then he picked me up. He had the same confusion deep in his eyes but he kissed my forehead and wished me goodbye and goodluck.

Father continued pushing me on the questions, so reluctantly I filled the rest in. I of course took longer than I had before, but I think he saw through my attempt to fail. The characters at the end remained a mystery until he began pointing at them.

He read them out loud, and I picked up a few of them that I understood. For the others he pulled out a book and show me pictures.

Then he gave me the pencil and made me copy the characters whilst saying the words to them.

That's pretty much how the day went. Father gave me words and explained them to me. I then copied them and repeated them. By the end I had a much better grasp on the language, but I certainly was missing a lot of information.

And that's how the next few months passed. During the week father would teach me. We would read books and play games. He'd teach me more words and problems, mostly maths but we'd often branch into some science things. Although with the language issue it took a long time to simply understand one sentence.

When I was nearing three months old, I was rather bored when Kakashi was cooking his dinner one night. So I decided to mess with the energy again. I'd picked up a few things from conversations and the science I'd been learning.

I still didn't have the right name for it, but I knew know that the pain I'd experienced a while ago was because of it. Which I had kind of guessed but, it's always great to have confirmation.

Anyway I was bored, so I decided to mess with this energy. Finding it within me was… difficult. It seemed it was easier to feel other peoples energy than my own. That kind of confused me, seeing how painful it had been originally.

Oh well. I found it flowing through my body, it was kind of a red mixed with pink color. A light ruby I suppose. It was a nice color, but that was where the positives ended.

The energy itself felt like glass shards that had been mixed into a shake and sent streaming through my body. It wasn't doing any physical damage, that I knew. But it was a very annoying thing to have to focus on. It also wasn't painful, which I didn't understand. It was just… there, and sharp. But it caused no pain.

Weird right?

And then, it still felt very uncomfortable. I definitely was not used to having this entire other network running through me.

None the less I found it. And then I harnessed it. The concept seemed simple, move the flowing weird stuff so that it would cling to my body like fire. Probably not the best concept now that I think about it.

Somehow I managed to spread it through my body and expand it. Slowly the energy crept out of my skin and began flowing off in visible waves.

Proud, I called up to Kakashi. Well it was more of a babble. "Kaka!"

He turned and his eyes widened when he saw the waves coming off me. "What are you doing Hikari?"

Oh yeah, that was my name by the way. Father had taught it to me in our lessons. I couldn't say much more than babble, so I simply held out my arms for him.

Instead of coming over to inspect me like I thought he would, he just sent me a frightened glance before dashing off. I frowned and reigned in my energy. It didn't seem to exhaust me much, but it certainly had taken some effort.

Kakashi came back in with father and stood in front of me. "Do it again Hikari. Show father."

I nodded hesitantly and did it again. the ruby aura clung to me tightly. Fathers jaw dropped slightly and he held up his hand to my glowing arm. "Hikari... Panda bear. Do you mind lowering that now sweety?"

He looked worried so I quickly ended the waves and stood up to hug his leg. Kakashi seemed to be in deep thought and father didn't hug me back.

Well. I wasn't going to be touching my energy again for a long time. Not it father gets so mad about it.

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I soon found myself at the lovely age of seven months. I'd begun teething, cue internal shudder. It was awful for me and awful for my family. They were kept up most nights from my crying.

But a good thing was I seemed to finally be able to crawl. It was a little early when I began around the start of my sixth month of life. I figured this from dads shocked look when I first did it. But I didn't care. It was so nice to be able to move for myself. Because of all the moving and growing I'd been given three new kigurumi's! A lion, owl and squirrel. My dad was the best!

Dressing up as a squirrel? I mean, come on!

C-flippin-ute!

The only thing was, father was overprotective. He wouldn't let me crawl anywhere other than in my room. For that alone he would stand over me and pick me up at the slightest tilt.

Dang this man was crazy.

Kakashi seemed less careful though. When father was gone he'd let me crawl around the entire house as long as he was nearby. So currently I was exploring the living room. It was rather spacious with simple furniture in the middle and pale green wallpaper. There were no photos but there were a few paintings. I wondered absently about the photos as I crawled over to Kakashi.

He had also seemed to notice I'd drink formula far more eagerly if it wasn't warmed. How had he noticed this? Let's just say he forgot to warm it one day. Kakashi was also a rather caring big brother. He'd been the one to start me on solid foods, but never the disgusting stuff from jars.

No, in fact he would boil pumpkin and mash it just for me. Adding some butter and herbs so that it actually tasted nice. Kakashi freaking _cooked _for me. A freaking four year old was cooking for me.

We'd formed a pact at some point. Kakashi had noticed me secretly playing with my energy, which I'd recently learned was called chakra. So he would help me. He showed me how to manipulate my chakra so it would only focus in one point. How to manipulate water and fire with it. I couldn't do it yet, but he'd demonstrated walking on walls and the roof.

Father came home to him one day holding a kunai in my face.

Kakashi didn't have a chance of survival.

Before I knew it the kunai was thrown away, embedding in a nearby wall. Kakashi was scooped up in my fathers arms and I was left alone in the living room.

Absently I wondered if I should feel guilty.

We were far more careful when we practiced from then on. I mean he was only showing me the kunai. We'd never worked on anything other than chakra.

By the time I was in my late seven months I'd learned to walk, albeit clumsily. Father was slowly becoming less worrisome. Kakashi was hardly home during the week now. Apparently he was attending an academy where he was training to become a ninja.

A freaking _ninja_!

I didn't know what to believe anymore.

One morning when Kakashi was absent again, father had taken it upon himself to teach me some chakra control exercises. I was a little confused when he pulled out the light bulb but I caught on quickly.

When he held it, I felt as he channeled his chakra into the bulb. It soon was lighting up the room with its glow.

Amazed, I took it from his outstretched hand and tried it myself.

Nothing happened.

Father frowned. "These bulbs work off chakra, I don't understand."

I shrugged and funneled more chakra, so much that my hand was going numb from the overload. The bulb shuddered at the influx but suddenly stilled. I narrowed my eyes and leaned closer, peering into the small globe.

Inside, I could barely make out the filament covered in...

Rubies?

But there it was. The bulb began to coat itself in a ruby tinted crystal, the entire thing surrounded by the odd matter in minutes.

Father didn't try that exercise with me again, I couldn't blame him.

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Well there we go, second chapter complete and WHEW was it long. 5k words. Wow, dunno how often I'll be doing that.

So I've updated sooner than I expected, yay. I'm glad because I really want to get through her first couple of years so we can get back to cannon, Huzzah! I'm so excited! I know it was long, but we covered a lot.

Recap: Hikari met her brother whom scared her by pulsing his chakra powerfully. She then grew her chakra coils which she was not used to. The months followed with her learning to speak, read, write and the basics like maths and science. We also discovered more about her unique chakra and her bond with father and brother. Wasn't that game just adorable n.n So much fun writing it! I hope you liked it!

CeresMaria : Correct about the father, but it's Kakashi's sister ^.^! xoxo

I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to continuing this with you all. Expect updates hopefully at least once a week. Perhaps slightly over, or slightly under. Depending on real life.

Of course, if you have any suggestions regarding format, writing style, grammar, story plot or other things feel free to leave a review or PM me, it's always appreciated :)

**Question: Do you like the name Hikari?**

_**~~I'm in need of a beta, if anyone is interested review or PM me. I can only find so many mistakes and rewrite paragraphs so differently.~~**_

~I apologies, writing a babies actions is something new to me so I hope it's satisfactory. Do expect at least slightly better chapters to follow (hopefully.)~

~*So I created a cover for this story, tell me what you think! BTW the colored eye is a good representation of the color of her chakra!*~


	4. Growing: II: New friends

**Summary**: To be strong is not necessarily in reference to having power and/or strength. It's possible that it could mean to be fearless, to be impavid. OC self insert.

Pfft, aren't you guys so lucky? I just love yah too much xoxoxox I'm updating far too often aha XD Hopefully that won't last cause I'm scringing out on my homework n.n Oh well. It's worth it! So this one is about another 5k in words. I haven't gone through it all thoroughly, so I apologies for any repeated sentences, weird paragraphs, spelling errors or plot holes. I'll go over it and update it later. I just wanted to get i tou thtere! omg that messed up really bad I just wanted to get it out there!

BTW I have a wireless apple keyboard that I'm dying to type with, but my FREAKING COMPUTER WON't RECOGNIZE IT. GRR. Anyways, just a glimpse into todays frustrations. YAY FOR CLUNKY KEYBOARDS X.X

I'd like to express my extreme appreciation at how you, the reader (or if you'd like leave a review so I know your username), bothered to continue reading my story. So, in other words, THANK YOU!

_~Edit 1: 7 reviews, 18 favs and 31 follows? OMG GUYS I CAN'T BELIEVE IT IM GONNA CRY OMG ;-; (CRIES TEARS OF JOY!) Too much love... can't... hold it...~_

_CeresMaria :_ YOU ARE AWESOME! Please keep pointing stuff out like that! It's so helpful! Only if u want of course though xoxo

Storytellerlover : Hmm I didn't realize it was so popular QQ my bad x.x Thank you so much! I'm trying to figure out exactly how I want to style my stories so please tell me if this chapter was better or worse than the previous! xoxox

Miyuusen : I'm so glad you're enjoying this! I'm glad you liked that I included the womb bit. I wasn't sure how to go about it. xoxox ty darlin' (heart)

Strife666: Updated really fast! Your hopes were answered! xoxoxox ty

wolvesnight : Thanks so much! Writing for babies is H.A.R.D! xoxoxo

Thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed, fav'd, followed and even READ this story. It's too much, really! I really didn't expect this response for my story x.x XOXOXOXOXO Hugs n kissles for all of you beautiful people!

**I DO NOT own Naruto. Only the idea of my OC.**

**~~Edit: Forgot to mention that I do not own the lyrics to Bob Dylan, forever young~~**

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_Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops. ~ Cary Grant_

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When my first birthday was nearing, father seemed rather frazzled. He was always heading out during the afternoon, leaving me with Kakashi. I suppose Kakashi was officially responsible enough now.

I tried not to be a fussy child. I hardly cried and did my best not to annoy my family. In return, Kakashi didn't utterly hate me and want to avoid me.

"Kash?" I managed as I crawled up to him. He didn't seem to mind the nickname.

He let go of the box and it landed lightly on the table. "What's wrong Riri?"

Yeah. I had a nickname too. "Cwshtel?" I tried.

He chuckled and patted my head before helping me onto the table next to the box. "You can practice your crystals now. I want to work on control today."

Kakashi was also taking responsibility for helping me with my crystal ability, or 'jutsu'. Although it didn't involve any hand signs. Yet. But then again I was only making very small crystals.

They would deteriorate as soon as I stopped applying chakra, so they weren't really worth any money. But maybe one day I could make a living off selling this stuff.

"Make the crystals as big as I say okay?" He then formed his hands into a rough size.

I sighed. I hadn't yet been able to control how big my crystals were. My chakra control was advanced for my age, but not enough for this. None the less I tried making the crystal to his size.

The chakra flowed from my fingertips, mixing with the air and transforming the molecules into a rather messy and discolored crystal. But it was about the right size.

Slowly I lowered it into the box and I watched sadly as it crumbled into dust that faded away. "That wasn't too bad Riri. Do it again but make sure the crystal is perfect."

He showed me a size again and I repeated the process, the resulting crystal perfect in color and clarity, except it was too small.

And that's how we spent the afternoon before my birthday. By dinner I was exhausted, my chakra reserves nearly depleted. But I had a far better grasp on my ability.

Dad made us a hefty serving of Yakitori, my favorite. He of course had extra honey glazed on mine and I made sure to thank him. As best as I could whilst my mouth was full. He also gave me a small side of Miso soup.

Kakashi didn't seem to enjoy chicken much, neither did father. I supposed they prefered red meats like beef. Even so it was a rather enjoyable dinner, perfect after such a difficult day of training.

Once dinner was done father brought both of us to Kakashi's room. I guess I was sleeping with him tonight. Father had sung before, but he'd never sung us to sleep. So I was rather excited when he sat down on the ground near us and began.

"May God bless and keep you always. May your wishes all come true-

May you always do for others. And let others do for you-

May you build a ladder to the stars. And climb on every rung-

May you stay forever young. May you stay forever young."

That was all I heard before I drifted off to sleep.

I was faintly aware of the kiss father gave me as he left and Kash wrapping his arms around me protectively.

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"Happy birthday Riri! Happy birthday Riri! Happy birthday dear Hikari! Happy birthday to you!" Kakashi sung loudly into my ear and I startled awake.

He bounced up and down, his Kigurumi bunny ears flopping around. I sat up slowly and rubbed my eyes. "Mownin' Kash.

He giggled and stood up, turning around.

Oh gawd that giggle and bunny tail!

"Father! She's awake!" Kakashi yelled as he hopped… sorry, walked towards the door.

That bunny pyjama will be the end of me.

Although. I've been known to be wrong before.

In walks father with a breakfast muffin lit with candles. The two begun singing happy birthday until they crouched in front of me.

A bunny and a..

A bloomin' wolf.

My dad was dressed in a wolf kigurumi.

Oh dear lord…

"Happy birthday Hikari!" The two shouted in unison.

I shuddered once more before grinning and blowing out the single candle. It didn't blow out fully and Kakashi laughed before helping me.

Father then clapped and placed the muffin in my hands before squishing us both in a big hug.

"My little Risu-chan, who'd have thought you'd turn one so soon eh?" Father teased whilst rubbing my head, messing up my short, silver and floppy hair.

Yes. Father called me Risu. I was called a squirrel.

I suppose I did like nuts though.

He was, however, at my mercy when I scrunched up my nose. "Sqwillel?"

"Oh dearie I'm sorry. I shouldn't be patronising you on your birthday." He quickly backtracks and grabs my arms, kissing my forehead.

I giggled as his beard scruff tickled me. "S'okay." I paused and looked at Kakashi. "Patw-nising?" I repeated.

He grinned smugly. "It's _patronizing_. It means he's making fun of you." My mouth formed a small 'o' and I turned back to father.

Kakashi had gotten up and left the room. I sensed his chakra as it wove through the hallway into his room. Father held my hand and helped me up. He then lead me out to the loungeroom. "I wanted you to open all your presents during the party, but you _must_ open this one now."

He crouched down and took the muffin from my hand, placing it on the table. He then handled me a package wrapped in pale lime. "Open it Ris... Hikari-chan."

I narrowed my eyes at his near slip-up but went ahead and unwrapped my gift.

As I pulled it out my jaw dropped.

Brown material, tail with wire in it so it stuck up and is that… a banana on it's side?

Father mustn't have any idea what clothes babies could wear.

I sighed and indulged him. Taking off my current kigurumi, leaving me in my diaper, I heaved on the new monkey outfit Father had bought. Once it was halfway up my arms slacked and Father helped me. "Aha! Aren't you just the cutest little Saru?"

Yay. A new nickname.

Kakashi came in with new clothes. He actually dressed up for today. A long grey button up shirt and black pants to match. "I told you she'd be sick of them dad."

Father shook his head. "She loves her kigurumis."

I just rolled my eyes at his expectant look.

"Nevermind that. We have breakfast made." Kash said as he dished out the miso soup and rolled omelets. I grinned.

Such a lovely breakfast.

Father got up to help him. He poured out three glasses of milk and brought them over. "You looking forward to the party?" Father asked as he sat across from me.

I shrugged as best I could. "Who's coming?" I asked in full.

"Well." He paused scratching his head. "Everyones busy and…" He trailed off at my look of disappointment. "But we are going to go to the park!" He tried.

So basically by party father meant just having a fun day.

Kakashi came over with the food then, plopping down next to me. "Father says when my birthday comes in a few weeks, people are going to be able to make it. We can share my birthday if you want?"

I blinked. He wanted to… share his birthday?

"If you don't like that then I'm sure we can organise another party. Maybe in a few months." He quickly backtracked.

Share his birthday? I paled and looked down, shaking my head as fast as I could. "Nononono. S'okay." Wow. Wide range of vocabulary huh?

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My party didn't go as badly as I thought. After breakfast we moved onto a fun game of charades. Let's just say wearing a monkey suit and trying to imitate a monkey so that your dad can guess 'monkey', should be classified as cheating.

After that Father walked with me on his neck and Kakashi at his side. We headed out for the first time in a while. Only when I was four months old and hurt my knee did I leave the house. First birthday also marked my first time out of the house.

I did say he was overprotective.

Not too many people were wandering the streets. I guess most of them were working. We walked past a restaurant at one point and Father pointed us to it proudly. "This is Gyudon-ya. They have the best gyudon in town. I go there all the time."

Kakashi and father both began to salivate and I groaned. The two actually began walking towards it zombie like. Irritated I slapped my hand as hard as I could against fathers face. With a start he coughed and stuttered for a moment. "Let's move on Kakashi…"

Longing stares were exchanged. Heart-broken cries sounded.

The park was fun. Kakashi and I played tag, although I couldn't run so mostly Kakashi just walked in circles before I tired out too much. Father joined in and both Kakashi and I were chasing after him.

Kash caught up to him first, jumping on his leg and managing to pull him down. I think father just let him. The two were laughing as I crawled on to the top. "We gotchu!" I announced proudly before I lost my balance and fell on my butt beside father.

He was still laughing as he checked me over. I tried to tell him I was okay but he just ignored me.

After the park we headed home and father read a story as I opened my presents.

The first was a few new books which I thanked father grately for. Kakashi's present was next and I was surprised to see wooden throwing sticks. "They're for practice." Kakashi said hesitantly.

I beamed at him, thanking him as much as father. By the end he was blushing and rubbing his neck sheepishly.

Two more from father, a new blanket and toy. The blanket was fluffier than anything I'd ever fluffed before, except fathers hair of course. It was also my favorite shade of orange. The toy was a large stuffed panda and I couldn't contain my squeal of happiness.

After that we played with the throwing sticks until the moon had risen. Mostly I just chewed on them absently as Kakashi threw them.

Father tucked us into Kakashi's bed again. But when he climbed in between us I couldn't contain my giggle. "Now kiddies. We're gonna go right to sleep tonight."

He sung to us again, the same beautiful tune. It certainly expressed the love he had for the two of us.

It was perfect.

It was ours.

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The next few weeks passed quickly and Kakashi's birthday loomed overhead. I had begged father to take me out so I could buy things for him. In the end father agreed to buy whatever I had on my list.

It took me a few nights to think of the perfect things, but once I had father went out and bought what I needed.

We had prepared the living room for the party. Because we'd actually be having guests streamers were hung around the room. There was an assortment of balloons and banners marked with 'Happy birthday!".

Kash didn't seem very excited about the birthday. It worried me. Normally he'd been one to easily express his emotions, but now he tried to hide them. I didn't like it, I mean, we were his family.

And so when father and I showed off our hard work Kakashi gazed at it blankly. "Nice." He said simply before climbing the stairs and hiding in his room.

I turned to father with a worried expression, but he didn't seem bothered in the slightest. Should I ask father about my concerns? Or would it be best I didn't mention them? There was a part of Kakashi's life that had always worried me.

He was training to become a ninja. A heavy weight to put on a kid.

"Risu, take these to the table in the corner." Father handed me Kakashi's presents.

I nodded and toddled over. They were light so I managed to stack them with little difficulty. When I turned father was missing.

Worried, I carefully began searching for his chakra signature. I found him with Kakashi.

Perhaps father actually was worried.

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In the morning, I toddled into Kakashi's room and leant over his face. Then, very loudly I shouted into his ear. "Happy birshway Kash!"

He woke with a start but grinned when he saw me. "Good morning Riri." He said tiredly before sitting up and pulling me into a hug.

Father came in then, muffin in hand. "Happy birthday son!" He yelled and handed him the muffin.

Kakashi took it brightly and blew out the candles. He then turned to father and pulled him into a hug. "I made you gyudon for breakfast. Get dressed both of you! I want to eat!"

My brother grinned happily whilst I groaned. Beef for breakfast. I toddled back to my room and did my best to pull on the only actual clothes I had. White shirt and black shorts. I got the pants on fine but the shirt gave me trouble. "Kash?"

He pulled on his shirt and walked to me, taking my shirt and helping me get it on. He then adjusted my hair before frowning. "How is it possible your hair is worse than mine?"

I giggled and he smiled cheerfully. "Come on Riri. Breakfast."

We'd nearly finished breakfast when the first guest arrived. I recognized him distantly. The man had snake-like eyes and pale face. "Hatake-sama! Where's the boy?" He asked cheerfully when father opened the door.

Hatake? Sakumo Hatake?

"Orochimaru my friend! No need for such polite greetings." Father turned and gestured to Kakashi. "The birthday boy is here."

Kakashi Hatake…

Orochimaru...

No way.

"Happy birthday boy!" Orochimaru knelt down and handed him a gift. "I brought this back from my last mission. Hopefully it treats you well."

Kakashi bowed and thanked him before moving to place the gift on the table.

Orochimaru then turned to me. "And how is this little one?"

"This is Hikari." Father turned to me with a proud grin. "She's my daughter."

Another guest arrived, jumping through the open window. "How old is this one? You've been hiding this from us, ne Saku-kun?"

"Damnit Tsunade! You're going to scare the kids." Father rushed over to the lady, fuming.

Tsunade?

Lady Tsunade?

"Oh drop it Saku-kun. I didn't scare them and if I did they aren't fit to be ninja." Tsunade huffed and crossed her arms.

To add to the fun, another man walked in through the open door with a young boy. "Sorry to be so late. Asuma really wanted to get Kakashi another present at the last second."

The man nudged the boy in Kakashi's and I's direction before turning to the other adults. "Hello! My name is Asuma!"

The boy was far too energetic for my liking. "Ah! Asuma! Father said you wouldn't make it."

"Oh Kaka-kun. I wouldn't miss your birthday for the world!" He walked forward and bumped his fist into Kakashi's shoulder before whispering into his ear. "Who's the kid?"

Kakashi blinked before looking at me. "That's my sister. Hikari."

Asuma frowned. "She's kinda quiet."

My brother bristled defensively. "She's not used to meeting new people." He turned to me encouragingly. "Riri this is my friend Asuma."

"H-hello." I stuttered out.

The boy grinned at me. "Hey! Want to play a game of ninja?"

I glanced at the newest guest to arrive. He introduced himself as Jiraiya.

Oh my…

"Tssk. Asuma she's too young." Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Well how about she team with me? Two against one." Asuma tried.

My brother was thoughtful for a minute before looking at me expectantly. I fumbled for a second trying to focus my thoughts. "Sure."

He nodded and grabbed Asuma's hand. We headed out to the rather large balcony our home had. After the adults had their initial conversation they came outside and watched us play.

I was pretty much useless, so instead I just watched.

Kakashi was… incredible. He was so fast as he threw the toy kunais. They hit with deadly accuracy.

How had I not seen it sooner?

My memories I had were still unexplainable to me. But there were just… things.

I hope one day I'll remember everything, the most likely hypothesis I've come up with was that I had another life before this one.

I remembered a few things from that life. Standing in front of a mirror. Writing something in class. But one thing that I remembered in its entirety was a show I used to watch all the time.

It was called Naruto.

And it featured some rather colorful characters.

Kakashi Hatake, teacher of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno.

But was my brother really _that_ Kakashi? The little four year old who I loved with all my heart?

I pushed those thoughts away. I knew I couldn't handle bringing up those memories yet. They needed to stay suppressed for a long, long time.

I _was_ only one year old.

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A few months before my second birthday we stood outside the academy. Father had me clinging to his neck as I held up a flag that read 'congratulations'. I had no doubt Kakashi would pass this test.

Not because I knew he grew to be a jounin from my memories, but because he was my brother. I knew my brother better than I knew myself.

"Really father? A little excessive don't you think?" Kakashi's voice sounded from behind us and I turned.

"Kashie!" I shouted and waved my flag. "You passed!"

He adjusted his headband sheepishly. "Yeah Riri. Don't shout about it…"

Father took it one step further. He bent down and scooped up a flailing Kakashi, grabbing me in his other hand. He pressed all our faces together. "Woo! You're the best, son! Isn't that right Risu-chan?"

"Kakashi is the best ninja in the world!" I agreed loudly.

I swear my brother was going to set himself on fire from how red he was becoming.

Father and I laughed all the way back home. Kakashi to his credit eventually gave in and joined us in our loud cheering.

My brother was growing up.

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By the time I was two years old Kakashi was hardly ever home. He was always out on missions with his team. Father only grew prouder each day but gosh darn I missed him. No matter how happy he made father.

"Risu-chan." Father called out as I finished my second lap. "You're stumbling over your toes too much. Stop looking at your feet."

"Yes father!" I called and quickly snapped my head up.

Father nodded and went back to preparing for my afternoon chakra training.

Since I'd first shown signs that I could run father had me practicing each day. I couldn't jump well yet, but he'd make me do it anyway. He was a… brutal teacher. I don't know where all his hesitance to my crawling had gone.

Maybe Kakashi had something to do with it. He probably persuaded father that I wanted to train.

But this is a bit excessive.

I slapped my hand against the fence and turned back. Father had encouraged me to use chakra to boost my speed but it never felt right. It was easier for me just to run naturally. From fathers disapproving eyes I knew I'd have to change that one day.

"Risu-chan move onto push ups now then you're going to do jumping jacks." He called out.

Oh my… Jumping jacks. Father really wasn't in a good mood today.

I sighed and dropped to the floor. I couldn't go too far down yet so I focused more on quantity than quality. So to speak.

Once that horror was done father sat down with me on the woven matt. He shoved over the balls of paper and I groaned. Now I wasn't much to complain, but this was stupid. "Father, really?"

He nodded. "I didn't soak them in water today."

"I noticed." I said bluntly.

The scrunched up paper balls varied in size and weight. The first I picked up seemed to be the smallest one. What I was supposed to do, was created a crystal that is roughly the same size as the paper.

I'd have to mold the crystal so it surrounded the paper, whilst not being hollow. It was difficult because I couldn't convert the paper into crystal, not yet at least. It took an extreme amount of concentration to avoid the thin material.

After a few minutes I held up the crystal victoriously. It wasn't very clear but I didn't care.

"Test it." Father pointed to a rock.

I groaned but got up and walked over to the rock. I reeled my arm back and threw the crystal. It shattered against the stone, the paper within rolling and landing at me feet.

Father shook his head. "Next one better not shatter or you'll be doing more jumping jacks."

Well, that's my cue. I returned to the pile and continued my training.

When Kash returned he collapsed on the couch exhausted. I ran from the backyard to jump on top of him. Air whooshed out of his lungs as I kissed his cheek. "Welcome home Kashie!"

"Argh, get of me Riri!" He yelled lightly.

Father walked in then, wrapping the dark grey cloth around his ponytail to keep it neat. "Now now you two. I'll get dinner on. Why don't you help Kakashi with his stuff Risu-chan?"

I nodded eagerly and hopped off. I grabbed his backpack and began lugging it. He followed grabbing the travel bedroll. "You'll never guess what I did today Kakashi-sama! I actually made a crystal that didn't shatter! Father was so proud and he didn't make me do the extra push ups he was gonna give me!"

Kakashi grunted. "What did you do today? More missions? Any better than the D-ranks you're always complaining about?"

When he dumped the bedroll and collapsed on the bed I sighed. A normal person would get mad at him for being so rude. A normal two year old at least. Instead I hugged him. "I'm glad you're home. I've missed you the past three days." Then I left the room, sliding his door closed.

Father was cooking dinner and I climbed up on the stool to help him. As I waited I began covering the bench in a thin layer of crystal. When he turned and noticed it he chuckled and shook his head at me. "I thought you were exhausted Risu-chan."

"Crystals are fun." I frowned. "Except when you force me to make them."

He sighed and wiped his hand on a cloth. "I'm only doing it for your own good baby. If you don't want to learn anymore we don't have to."

"No! I like training. It's just hard." I pouted and released my chakra so the crystals dissipated.

Father placed the dishes down once I removed the crystal and served dinner. "If you want to be a ninja. You have to work hard."

He hummed the song he always sung to us as he dished the rest of the food. His words slowly sinking in

Ninja.

I was going to be a ninja.

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So I wanna address some things (I wanted to address more things but I forgot them):

1) I did some research, Orochimaru should still be in the village at this time. If that's wrong please tell me.

2) If Risu and saru don't mean Squirrel and monkey please tell me.

3) Are the kigurumi jokes getting old? IDK I love imaginning Kakashi in a pink bunny onesie :D

4) I hope this is all realistic. I tried to refer more to baby milestone sites so she wouldn't advance _too _quickly.

5) Love that quote- slightly irrelevant

Things are speeding up! Hikari is two now! Good for her. Next chapter hopefully by the end she'll be four. So you know what that means. Wow... it's sooner than I thought it would be. But I guess I am doing 5k words now huh? hmm I miss doing 1.7-2.5 k words...

Kakashi's chunin exams is next chapter! Can't wait for my first fight scene :D:D:D:D:D:D

Also I think my style changed a bit this chapter, it isn't as 'chunky'. Probably because of the dialogue. Hope you like it!

**Recap:** Hikari had her first birthday, Kakashi soon had his first. Hikari finally remembered more from her 'old' life and is slowly working on figuring things out. Kakashi became a genin and now is growing into his own person. He no longer shows too much emotion and he doesn't pay much attention to Hikari anymore. Although he still loves her just as much.

That'll get sorted as he grows. He's just figuring out a balance between being a ninja and being a brother xoxox

At age two Hikari finally began training, well, serious training at least.

Don't think I'm gonna be doing recaps anymore, IDK.

So there we go!

_**~~I'm in need of a beta, if anyone is interested review or PM me. I can only find so many mistakes and rewrite paragraphs so differently.~~**_

~I apologies, writing a babies actions is something new to me so I hope it's satisfactory. Do expect at least slightly better chapters to follow (hopefully.)~

~x So I was wondering if I should post the link for the chapter I'm working on. then you guys can read it, comment on it, ETC. Tell me what you think x~

~*So I created a cover for this story, tell me what you think! BTW the colored eye is a good representation of the color of her chakra!*~


	5. Growing: III: Change

**Summary**: To be strong is not necessarily in reference to having power and/or strength. It's possible that it could mean to be fearless, to be impavid. OC self insert.

Thank you to all forty three of you that have read, twenty five of you that have favorited, and those that got us to twelve reviews. Thank you. xoxo

I'd like to express my extreme appreciation at how you, the reader (or if you'd like leave a review so I know your username), bothered to continue reading my story. So, in other words, THANK YOU!

**I DO NOT own Naruto. Only the idea of my OC.**

**Warning: Language, death and fight scenes.**

**~~This chapter has only been proofread ONCE by me. I've re written it THREE times. Please excuse any spelling mistakes or odd sentences. If you'd like please point them out in a PM or review~~**

**~*This chapter is likely to be re written at a later date. I just couldn't get it right :c xoxo*~**

**~Still looking for a beta xoxo~**

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_Character is the result of two things: mental attitude and the way we spend our time._

_~Elbert Hubbard_

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One friday afternoon I was rather excited. Kakashi had been going on increasingly longer missions. He'd just been away for about two weeks and he was coming back this afternoon. Father and I waited for him eagerly. I had bought him a new backpack in honor of his hard work. Father tied the cloth around his ponytail tighter as he waited.

When Kakashi opened the door I practically leapt forward, as best I could, into his startled arms. We fell back into the entry hall but I didn't care. "Kashie! You're home! Father has been getting so mundane so I'm glad you're back! I might have died from repetitiveness!"

Kakashi shook his head and helped me up, kissing me on the cheek and pulling me into the hug. "I've missed you to Riri. Let me guess, lots of training?"

"Yep! I swear father doesn't know anything other than laps. That's all I ever do." I complained as I helped Kakashi with his loose items.

Father gasped. "Hey! Don't offend my teaching methods Risu-_chan_." He made sure to emphasise.

"But it's true!" I argued as I dumped his stuff at the end of the bed.

Kashie placed down his pack and searched through it, pulling out a slip of paper. He walked nervously to father. "Hey dad?"

"Ah I know what this is." Father grinned and took the note from him, reading it over quickly. "I figured it was about time for all this."

"All what?" I asked. "What's it say?"

Brother turned to me and explained calmly. "I've been nominated to partake in the Chunin exams."

"Chunin?" I trailed off. Father had taught me things about this world during our lessons. I'd also recalled some things from my 'old' memory. "You're getting a promotion?"

"Not so hasty little Risu. He has to complete the exams first." Father knelt down and scruffed my hair. "Although I have no doubt that he will."

Father stood up and pushed me along. "Go set up the table and server dinner. It's all made."

My eyes flashed to Kakashi. "Alright father."

When father and Kakashi walked into the lounge room I already had everything set and had even been waiting for them for a few minutes. Kakashi just sat straight down and ate but father and I shared a conversation.

That night, I slid into Kakashi's room in darkness. I made sure to flare my chakra slightly so he wouldn't scare, but I knew from all his training he would have heard my approach. Ninja had to be light sleepers. "Kash?"

"Riri?" He shifted in the bed and I made my way next to him in the darkness. "What's wrong Riri?"

"What did father say to you?" I asked quietly.

Silence filled the air for a few moments before he let out a breath. "Just asked me to be careful."

Another silence stretched.

"Are you going to get hurt?" I shuddered at the thought.

I felt Kash shift and wrap his arm around me. "No Riri. Go to sleep."

More silence and breathing.

"Sing me the song please Kashie? I can't get to sleep." I tried.

Kakashi groaned but adjusted himself so I could hear him easily. He only sung in a whisper of breath. "May God bless and keep you always. May your wishes all come true-

May you always do for others. And let others do for you-"

He didn't even need to sing more than that, I'd already fallen asleep.

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The thing that annoyed me most was, we weren't allowed to know anything about the exams until the third trial. So we couldn't visit Kashie until nearly eight days after we said goodbye.

Father had sat down with me. He knew how much Kashie's absence was affecting me.

"Your brother is a ninja. He's most likely about to be promoted." Father began hesitantly.

I remained quiet as he arranged the thoughts in his hand. "I don't know how often he will be home. For the moment he will stay part of his current team. Even so he'll be on longer missions and away from home more often. At a maximum those missions would last around one to two months."

Father checked my expression, but I had a blank mask in place. He adjusted the cloth wrapped around his ponytail. Darn he was doing that far too often recently. Perhaps he was just more and more stressed. "When he's reassigned he'll be able to take higher ranking missions. He will hardly ever be home and when he is it's likely he'll be training often."

He watched me as my eyes grew red and watered. I sucked in many calming breaths before I thought it would be safe to speak. "I… Why isn't he telling me this?"

"I don't think he could bare hurting you Hikari." Father guessed.

He used my name.

Father was being very serious here.

I took in another shuddering breath. "I'm… I'm going to talk to him when I see him next." I got up and headed up the stairs before my tears fell. "Goodnight father. I'm tired."

All in all the talk went really well.

Finally the day arrived and we gained news. Kakashi had made it to the final rounds where he would have to battle other genin. We were given a time and a place to view the matches. Father immediately bought tickets.

The day the matches were planned I'd dressed in my panda kigurumi. I needed my comfort. Father wore boring colors. Cream shirt and grey pants. He adjusted the cloth on his ponytail again before we set out. I checked the bag I carried to make sure it had what I needed.

Kashie's bunny kigurumi.

Check.

We took our seats in a rather secluded section. I suppose this was for the very important people who wanted to watch the battles.

Kakashi's match wasn't first, but third. So we'd have to sit through two fights before his.

Let me tell you this. As a nearly-three-year-old I'd still yet to seen a real fight between ninja. So when the first boy came out I immediately noticed how big he was. Obviously at least double my brothers age.

Secondly, how bloodthirsty he looked. It was as though he wanted to slaughter whoever landed in front of him.

A Konoha shinobi that I did not recognise dropped down in front of the boy. He was about the same size except not nearly as evil looking.

When the proctor told them to begin my eyes couldn't keep up.

It was rather terrifying.

All I could do was watch as each genin slowly gained cuts and bruises. One seemed to be wielding kunai while the other had senbon.

Once they seised taijutsu it was clear who was winning.

The Konoha shinobi formed a few hand signs messily, but it worked. Soon a strong wind flew at his opponent and slammed him in the wall. The brute wasn't knocked out right away, but the Konoha nin took the advantage and threw five precise senbon.

Father had covered my eyes and blocked my ears at that.

I think I could guess why.

As the covered body was taken from the arena the next two opponents stepped in. I was surprised to see them both being kunoichi. One held an odd looking disc and the other simply held up their fists in a stance.

The match began and the one with the discs threw them at the other. They missed entirely, launching into the air. The other kunoichi ignored them and father bent down to my ear. "If you're ever in the position and tools so easily miss, do not take your attention off them."

I nodded, etching the information in my brain.

When the kunoichi nearly reached the weaponless girl she smirked and formed a handsign. The discs began to spin rapidly, growing into large dark circles of death.

Kunai and shuriken rained down at the other kunoichi. She was fast but even so she had ignored the threat. One caught her in the leg and again father blocked my ears and eyes. But I'd seen enough.

"Father!" I stuttered out with my eyes wide in fear.

He hugged me close to him. "Not all matches end in death and pain Risu-chan. KAkashi isn't like that, it will be fine."

And there he was, my brother. He appeared in a whirl of leaves.

Show off.

His opponent was roughly the same size as my brother, except far taller. The age difference stunted me but beside my father chuckled.

As the battle began Kakashi didn't move. He just slipped his hand into his pocket and watched as the nin charged at him. The shinobi aimed a punch for his head.

In a flurry of movement Kakashi blocked him.

Kakashi's forearm held off the impressive blow, that speed too. At the very last second he'd moved his arm.

I jumped from my seat and screamed. "Yeah Kashie! Get him!"

My brother glanced in my direction, smirked and then yawned.

Oh my he really is a show off.

He's totally wearing that bunny onesie later.

The two jumped apart, resuming the same stances as before. The nin grunted at his nonchalance and formed handsigns. Dog and tiger.

A clone formed on each side of him and he charged. They switched back and forth. I couldn't keep up with the speed so I lost which one was the real one.

One launched at Kashie and he didn't move. The clone sunk through him but another was behind them. It was then Kakashi moved.

In an instant he threw a smoke bomb but not before performing hand signs.

When the smoke cleared two clones stood and Kakashi stood over the real one. His body was buried deep in the ground and his head struggled in vain to do anything.

The crowd was silent for a moment before everyone erupted in cheers as they had for every other winner. The proctor walked forward and held up Kakashi's hand, declaring him as winner.

Father was silent next to me and I frowned at him. "What's wrong father? Kakashi won!"

"Yes. He did didn't he." Then he blinked once and smiled at me. "Let's go get some lunch for your brother eh?"

I nodded eagerly and we set off for some gyudon.

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There was a part of me that was excited we were training so much. I could become strong and help Kashie on his missions. Dad said it was unlikely unless I progressed really quickly. Although he'd praised my special ability quite often.

There wasn't much known about my crystals. Father and I had rented many books from the library but we hardly learned a thing. I think father knew what it was, he just didn't know much about it.

A theory I was working on by myself was that it was a kekkei genkai. A genetic kekkei genkai. Father certainly didn't possess it, but perhaps he carried it. Unlikely but still possible.

The more likely idea was that my mother was the one who possessed it.

I was tempted to ask father if we could visit my mother. Surely she would know something about the ability. Some kind of jutsu she could teach me.

But some things were best left in the past. If my mother was… gone, then father certainly would not react well to me bringing it up.

So I was left with finding things out on my own. Fathers chakra control lessons helped and I studied jewels in my spare time. I could learn about their structure from the few books on crystallology. The land of snow would be a very valuable venture for me.

Snowflakes themselves were a form of crystals and I was sure people living there would have vast knowledge on the subject.

Perhaps when I became a ninja I could make a trip there on my own.

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Kakashi wasn't home for my third birthday, nor was he home for his own seventh birthday. I guess that's how the life of ninjas worked. Father and I had only grown closer, if that was even possible. "Flour Risu-chan."

"Got it dad." I handed it over and went back to mixing the icing. Chocolate icing. I shuddered but continued.

Father stopped mixing and walked over to the pan, pouring the mix in. "This'll be perfect for when he gets back."

"More cocoa powder dad." I called absently.

He brought it over and poured it in before taking the bowl out of my hand. "We'll wait until the cake is cooked before we finish this off. Go get cleaned up and we'll go train."

I wasn't sure exactly why father wanted to make Kakashi a cake. It was unlikely he was going to be back in time for the cake to still be fresh. I suppose it was the thought that count.

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When Kashi was on a break finally, father had me spar against him. I was hesitant about it. I mean I was at an age and experience disadvantage. As well as the fact he was my brother.

But I was bribed into it.

Kakashi swore he would wear the bunny outfit the whole time.

I mean, why would I say no to that?

And so I took out my blunt kunai and threw it at him. They lacked in power but my aim was perfect. Kakashi jumped into the air then landed and rolled sideways. "Damnit Kashie! Hold still."

I pulled out three shuriken and threw them before charging at him.

Like the showoff he is he flipped backwards to dodge my attacks. I aimed a punch for his stomach only for him to catch my hand. I gulped as he winced. "Sorry Riri."

Quickly I coated my chest with crystal as he kicked. I flew back from the force but managed to regain my footing. I looked to father and he narrowed his eyes. Kakashi walked forward, hobbling slightly. "What was that Riri?"

"Crystal." I said simply as I tried to regain my breath. He hadn't given it his all but dang that kick was powerful. It took far too much out of me to create a crystal strong enough.

"You fixed it to your skin?" He asked surprised.

I nodded before collapsing to me knees. Too much chakra. My bad. Shoulda just taken the blow.

Father rushed over and checked me but I shook my head. "Used more chakra than necessary."

"You did fine." He pulled me up in his arms and walked over to Kakashi. "You did well too son. Your speed has improved."

He shrugged but his eyes were locked on me. He really didn't like hurting me. I gave him my best reassuring grin. "I'm fine Kashie. Just need to get my chakra back."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, unsure. "Seriously." I said hopping out of fathers arms. "Better already."

brother looked me over again and seemed satisfied. He walked forward, limp almost gone. I was embraced in his arms before I could blink. "Love you Riri."

"Love you too Kash." I giggled happily.

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A few weeks before my fourth birthday father took us all to Gyudon-ya to celebrate another successful mission for Kakashi. He was so quiet about his missions, we rarely learned more than what rank they were. Although father had admitted to me in private that he'd got some of his friends to give him more information.

Even so I hardly learned more than whether Kakashi survived the mission or not.

Strangely I never worried about his physical safety. His mental safety was different however…

Each time he came home he changed slightly. Originally he was quiet and lost in his thoughts. Now he was talking more, but he'd avoid anything about his job. But that was enough for me.

I'd hate it if we grew further apart.

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Father was called in for a meeting a few months after Kakashi's eighth birthday. My brother wasn't home having just head out for a mission the day before. An escort mission? That was my best guess.

I waited anxiously for fathers return. In all my life he'd never had a meeting. Well at least none he's told me about. So it was a good guess that this wasn't good.

But then again, I've known to be wrong.

Father returned with a rolled scroll in his hands and a worried look on his face. I rushed up to him and grabbed onto his leg. "What was it about father? Is Kakashi okay?"

He blinked and tightened his grip on the scroll. "The Hokage has assigned me a rather important mission Hikari."

"What? But you've never had a mission!" I sped after him as he slumped into a chair.

"I'm actually surprised by how long they let me take my leave for." He smiled at me sadly. "It's been four years Risu-chan."

I narrowed my eyes and sat on the chair opposite to him. "So, you have to go on a mission?"

"Yes." He looked at the painting on the wall absently. "I'll have to leave tomorrow, late at night."

I looked down at my hands and bit the side of my mouth. "When will you be back?"

"It shouldn't take more than a week, but Kakashi won't be back for a few months so I'll have a friend keep an eye on you." His eyes darted back to mine and he gave me a half-hearted smile. "I expect you to keep up your training, I'll write up a plan for you tonight."

"Really?" I groaned and let my head fall on the table.

Father let out a hearty chuckle. "Yes. You'd better have mastered tree climbing by the time I get home."

Oh lawd he was gonna get me killed.

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Father greeted the lady who was supposed to watch me in the hall. I knew they were whispering about things and even with chakra enhanced ears I couldn't pick up what they were saying. Father walked back in after a bit and picked me up, kissing me.

"Take care of yourself my little Risu. I'll be home before you know it." He flashed me a confident smile.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. "I know you will daddy and I'll be waiting to show you my tree climbing."

He laughed deeply before turning so I had sight of the lady behind him.

"Saku-kun, we really should have met up sooner." The lady walked forward and pinched my cheeks, smiling. "Haven't you grown up into a lovely little girl Hikari?"

My cheeks were red when she stopped pinching me and I rubbed them furiously. Father set me down and grabbed his pack. "Don't forget about her training Tsunade."

Tsunade chuckled and sent me a rather intimidating look. "I'll make sure she trains. Don't you worry Saku-kun."

I sent a pleading look to father but he shook it off. "You worry too much. Now I'll see you both soon okay?"

"See you in a week!" I called.

He waved as he shut the door. "Maybe even sooner!"

Maybe even sooner.

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"Hikari! Stop slacking off." Tsunade called from her spot in the garden.

It had been five weeks and we still hadn't heard from father. I'd gotten over worrying. I would know if father was hurt. I would know. "Sorry sama!"

I fixed my stance and returned to covering my hands in crystals.

Hands were easy. I only really had to cover them in chakra and convert it. I'd pretty much perfected it. My hands glowed red before it changed and morphed to a thin cover of ruby crystal. Thin, but stronger than most armors.

"Your stance is still wrong." Tsunade sighed and got up, blowing back her bangs. "Let me fix your feet little one." She walked over and bent down, adjusting the angle of my feet.

I took note of the adjustments and corrected my stance. She nodded and watched as I continued on. I'd begun to fall behind in taijutsu, according to the standards father had set. It just wasn't right for me.

Crystals were what I was natural with. And I wasn't too bad with kunai either.

The bell rung and tsunade and I rushed to the front door. I opened it with a huge smile which disappeared when the chunin held out a scroll. Tsunade accepted it and said goodbye to the messenger.

She read it slowly, her expression remaining a mask. Once she was done she turned to me and clicked her tongue. "The good news is that your father is safe. He and his teammates arrived a few hours ago. They're currently in debriefing."

"Bad news?" I asked hesitantly.

Her eyes flashed darkly for a moment before she composed herself again. "He won't be home for a week yet. There's a lot of debriefing to be done."

I narrowed my eyes at her, taking in the small glimmer of something behind her eyes. "Let me read the scroll."

She paled and shook her head. "There's nothing else on here-"

"Let me see the scroll." I demanded.

Tsunade sighed but placed the scroll in my hand.

_To whom this may concerned,_

_Sakumo Hatake, sent on mission 13789A, has returned in a stable condition. He will be kept within a debriefing centre for a minimum of one week as this mission requires such…_

Blah blah blah. I scanned over it until I found what I was looking for.

_Dishonorable discharge_. Was stamped at the bottom along with the details of his discharge.

I looked at Tsunade. "Fathers been… discharged?"

She gulped and turned away, scratching her head. "Your father is a wonderful man little one. Don't forget that. No matter what."

And that's all I managed to get out of her for the remainder of the week.

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Father had been back for three days and all he'd done was stay in his bedroom. I thought maybe it would be like Kakashi, I'd wait and things would get better. But when he refused to eat or drink anything for the third morning I began to worry.

He hardly talked, no longer could I hear his voice that had comforted me from birth. Now it was simply a dead monotone sound that tore at my heart.

"Father?" I slid his door open slightly.

"Go away Hikari. Do not interrupt your father." He said bluntly.

"Damnit father! You've been saying the same things for three days! You're not even doing anything that I could interrupt!" I shouted at him and opened the door wider.

He didn't say anything. "You're going to eat and drink some water or I will get Tsunade."

"Tsunade would be unavailable. Don't be so stupid." He spat at me.

I lowered the tray at the side of the bed and his haunted eyes gazed at the cup lazily. "Drink it or I'll get the Hokage."

He laughed, a dark release of breath. "He wouldn't care."

"Then I'll get Jiraiya." I threatened finally. I was running out of names.

Father grew silent for a long stretch of time. Finally he sighed and grabbed the cup, gulping it down. He then shoved the tray away and let the cup clatter to the floor. "Leave me now."

I couldn't keep the tears from falling as I picked up the cup and food. I left it on the kitchen bench before running and hiding in my bedroom.

For once I didn't know what to do.

What was I supposed to do?

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Father began drinking and eating again. Well, he bit a few times into the bread rolls I made. But other than that he did nothing. I was completely lost and all I could do was continue training.

I had perfected my tree climbing long ago.

When he refused food that night I gave up. I ran to my room and grabbed a scroll, scribbling furiously.

_Kakashi._

_Something is wrong with father. Something about a 'dishonorable discharge''. He'll hardly drink and will barely eat. All he does is lie on his bed. I don't know what to do. Please return to Konoha immediately. I need help Kash._

_Scared,_

_Hikari._

I sealed the scroll and left the house to find the nearest messenger hawks. There was a tower nearby and I rushed to it. The men looked at me condescendingly but I handed over money and the scroll. "This is an emergency scroll for Hatake Kakashi of Team Minato."

They took it hesitantly and told me they'd send it as soon as possible. I bowed thankfully and rushed home. I grabbed some gyudon as a last hope.

Father did not eat it.

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I'd sent Kakashi three more scrolls after he hadn't responded. Father wasn't getting much better. He was eating now at least and I think he took a bath. But other than that he still just lied on his bed.

When I left my room in the morning, father was messing around in the loungeroom. I froze for a moment, shocked to see him out of his room. "Father!" I shouted hopefully.

He turned and gave me a smile.

It was an empty gesture.

My hope quickly vanished. "Hello Hikari. I heard Kakashi was returning around this time. Perhaps you should go and greet him."

"No it's okay! I'll make both of you breakfast. We can have omelettes and-"

"Hikari!" Father shouted, interrupting me. "Go and greet your brother."

"But-"

He whirled on me, glaring. "Now."

His eyes were horrifying. Father had never looked at me like that.

Tears spilled and I dashed away. I didn't bother changing, simply heading out in my long cream tee and shorts. I ran for Kakashi. He would fix this.

Kakashi would help father.

Everything would be alright with the three of us.

I found Kakashi heading home from the tower and I stepped in front of him. "Kakashi!"

He looked up and blinked a few times. "Oh. Hello Hikari."

"Where've you been? I sent you messages!" I yelled at him.

He blinked again. "I'm sure father is fine Hikari. You must be overreacting."

"I'm not overreacting!" I gasped at his nonchalance. "Damnit Kakashi with is serious!"

"You must be mistaken. I'm sure father is fine." Kakashi shrugged.

I fumed for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Just come home and see." I said simply and began pulling him home.

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When we got back the door was ajar, swinging back and forth with the wind. Worry surged through me. I reached out with my chakra and found no signatures inside. Kakashi stiffened beside me surely figuring out the same thing.

"Riri." He said to me as I moved to open the door fully. "Riri can you go grab some gyudon for us?"

"Nonsense." I said turning back to the door. "I'll cook some for us."

Kakashi was home now. The three of us could cook together.

I shoved the door open, my eyes scanning the room.

Kakashi entered behind me slowly.

Finally I found him. He lay in a puddle of blood, his skin ashen gray and his eyes staring at nothing.

I screamed.

Kakashi raced forward just before I did. He fell to his knees and felt for fathers pulse. I looked around for sign of an attack but found none. "Kashie there's no-"

"No one attacked him." Kakashi said as he tried C.P.R in vain.

"Then how.." My eyes moved to the kunai at his side. "No!"

I let out a horrified gasp and fell to his side, my hands smeared with blood and I lifted his wrist. "No. No this is fake, a test or something."

"He's dead Hikari." Kakashi said quietly as he moved back from the mess.

I felt along his chest and up to his neck. His lips were blue and his eyes were open. He gazed off at nothing, his eyes black pools of darkness.

"No." I said again, my voice shaking as I pulled fathers head into my lap. "Get a medic nin!"

Kakashi placed his hand on my shoulder. "He's gone Hikari."

I shrugged off his arm before rocking back and forth, raking my fingers in fathers fluffy hair before they caught in the cloth and band that held it back. I repeated the process.

"Let's go inform the hospital so they can come and collect the body." He said calmly.

Calmly.

He was _fucking_ calm right now?

I placed fathers head down slowly and whirled on him. "How can you be so heartless! He was your father Kakashi! He was our father!" My anger boiled and chakra spiked. "This is your fault." I said as the realization came to me. "This is all your fault Kakashi!"

He began to back away then, my chakra spiking dangerously. It began to flow off me in waves, surrounding me entirely. Crystals began forming on the walls, blocking in the windows and filling the room with red light.

"This is your fault. You should have come back sooner!" I shouted.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he stepped back further, nearly tripping over a crystal growing near his feet. "Calm down Hikari."

"No!" My eyes flicked to the floor beneath him and he barely dodged the crystal that exploded from the ground under his feat. "You're the reason fathers dead Kakashi! You didn't come back. You should have come back!"

"This is bigger than us Hikari." Kakashi yelled from the doorframe. "It wasn't our fault."

"The hell it is!" I poured chakra into the ground and crystals shot up high into the sky. "We could of saved him! He was our father! He was our father, we should have protected him."

My chakra wrapped around father, quickly encasing him in crystal. "We were supposed to protect him."

"Please calm down Hikari! Everything will be fine. I'll take care of us." He called from behind the crystals blocking him.

I did not say anything as I shut off the rest of the room. My crystals growing rapidly. I turned back to father as the room was slowly filled with my special ability.

He looked so peaceful, almost as though he was asleep. I smiled as tears fell from my eyes and I lied down next to him.

Father was here.

He could see my progress in training, taste my gyudon and sing to me.

I'd fluff his hair and hug him. Kakashi would dress in a kigurumi because father and I would make him.

We'd go to the park again and play tag. He'd pull us all into a hug and shout to the world how proud he was of us.

How often he'd watch out for us.

How much he loved us.

My chakra finally returned to me and my skin slowly became covered with the ruby crystals.

I shut my eyes as my last thoughts faded from my head.


	6. Growing IV: Maracas

**XXXXXXXXMUST READ THIS PLEASEXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Hey guys! So this is take 2 of chapter 5!**

**Here's the thing.**

**I got inspiration guys!**

And now I need your help!

Do you want a timeline where Hikari will be on the same team as Naruto?

Or do you want the normal timeline. She won't wake up fifteen years later, only 3 months or so. She won't be on Naruto's team exactly... Heh you'll see!

Anyway, read this chapter if you're interested.

**Then go to my profile and answer the poll.**

*****THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE STORY. AS THIS IS EARLY IN I FEEL LIKE YOU GUYS SHOULD GET THE CHOICE. IF YOU'RE UNHAPPY ABOUT THIS LET ME KNOW*****

**I DO NOT own Naruto. Only the idea of my OC.**

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_What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal._

_~Albert Pike_

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White. Dark. Images. _Memories. _Flashing by my eyes. Flashing through my _mind. _From my other life that I suspected I had. Now I knew.

I tried to ignore most of the memories. But it didn't work. Let me tell you my old life wasn't pretty. The only thing I ever bothered to pay extreme attention to was _anything _mentioned about Naruto.

Naruto. I'd watched the show, read the stories fans wrote and bought the toys associated with it. Naruto was one of the few things that had made my life happy.

It had kept my old life from complete sadness.

I watched my old life all through to it's end. My death was awful, I refused to believe it had happened. But once that was over. There was nothing.

I still had the memories of course. All my memories. I reflected on everything I'd learnt. Everything that had happened.

Father killed himself. That was the deciding factor in everything.

Was I dead? No. Fate would not put me in this world for me to die. So what was happening now? I tried to find my body, but found nothing.

My chakra was there, everywhere. Like I was drifting in a tank of my ruby energy.

What had I done? I must have done something with my chakra. Perhaps what I did to father, I did to myself.

It'd always been there. My last defense so to speak. I'd unintentionally used the ability on father in my grief. I'd sent out an enormous amount of chakra and surrounded him in crystal before turning him into one as well.

One day, when I'd been practicing with Kakashi, he'd brought out a bucket of water. My goal was to create a crystal bowl and then scoop up some water with it. It was to work on the shape and form of my chakra. Unthinkingly I'd let out a bit too much chakra and converted part of the water into crystal.

That's when I knew.

Maybe Kash didn't realise it but I did.

I had the ability to turn water into crystal. The realization led to others. I just… _knew _it could be applied to blood. Therefor, why couldn't I convert animals into crystals as well? Humans even?

And that scared me.

So that was what I'd done to father.

And what I was beginning to think I'd done to myself.

If I was a crystal, however absurd the thought was, then my body wasn't changing. I didn't even know how I was _thinking_. But I was. I had time to think. Lots of it.

So here it was. I hated the village. Downright hated it. I'd never had an opinion on it in my old life, only caring about the characters. In this life I despised the village for so easily ruining fathers life.

I'd loved Kakashi Hatake in my old life. His character never ceased to amaze me. Right now I was on two sides about him. On one hand I knew he'd grow up and become the person I wanted. On the other hand right now he was _so wrong _about his beliefs. He wouldn't grow to believe that abandoning friends was worse than ditching the mission for quite a few years.

So, all in all, I was pissed at him. But I didn't hate him. I'd certainly say a few words to him.

The only other person I thought was immediately related to fathers death was the Hokage. But I guess I couldn't blame him. If he stopped working by the rules he'd probably be killed on spot.

What now then?

Did I have the ability to fix myself?

Yes.

I didn't know how. But I was sure I could.

As soon as I wanted to.

Therefor, when I began to turn myself from a crystal back into a human I'd have to wake up. That was an interesting thing to figure out.

When did I want to wake up? How long had it been already? It felt like a whole lifetime. But I knew dreams, visions… whatever, worked in weird ways. So maybe it had been 10 minutes or 10 years. Either way, did I want to wake up sooner or later?

If I woke now, there was more I could do. I could be powerful long before Naruto was even a genin. I could help more. I could help him and he needed it.

I owed that to him. Even if I hated the village, I loved that little yellow haired idiot. He'd brought so much happiness to my old life, even so much that he'd saved it. So I owed him.

Great.

Work.

There was a lot that needed to be done, but no time to collect my thoughts. I had to wake up and figure out what time I was in.

Slowly I hauled back in my chakra, the pool receding and drawing back into my system. It was slow, I was being careful. Crystals were natural to me now, a part of me. I mean _I was a freaking crystal_. So they were like a third arm, or a second head. But this was still extremely tedious.

As I pulled in my chakra, the crystal receded and converted. I waited as the form of my body took shape and I begun to breath again. My heart began working again. It was _magical_.

My chakra hummed slowly through my network, working its way through to strengthen my body. There was not a single part of me that was crystal and hesitantly I opened my eyes.

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Hospital. What a joke.

I was a crystal. Shouldn't I have been at a jewelry store or something? Ah, my jokes.

It was dark, that much was obvious. I sent out a few waves of chakra and sensed them react. One began rushing to my room. I didn't recognize it.

The door burst open just as I was getting up from bed dressed in what I'd been wearing on _that _day. Still soaked in fathers blood.

I needed a change of clothes as soon as possible.

"Hatake-chan please lie down." The lady said but I waved her off as I brushed my hair into a messy bun and encased it in crystal. Pretty neat trick right?

"I'm fine. I need to find Kakashi Hatake do you know where he is?" I said hurriedly and looked at her.

The red headed lady blinked and then glared at me. "You've just… You've just woken up after being unconscious for three months and you need to rest. At least let one of the nurses inspect you."

Kushina Uzumaki. I absently strengthened my chakra to sense hers better. It was there, but faint. Kyuubi's chakra. I paled slightly.

Also. Three months. Not nearly as long as I thought it was going to be, but still would work out quite well. I needed to practice and grow strong, then I could try and deal with some of Naruto's possible threats. Most of them were probably younger than me.

Oooh Itachi would be born soon. Where was Mikoto Uchiha when you needed her?

"Sorry nurse-sama but I have much to do. I'm in perfect health I assure you." I moved to brush past her but she grabbed my arm with speed I didn't understand.

I looked up to her nervously. "You will lie down or I will force you to lie down Hikari-_chan_." Then she smiled sweetly. Too sweetly.

I gulped but rushed to the bed, diving under the covers. She laughed and turned on the light. "I will be back in a moment. Stay still." She brushed her hand along the doorframe before she left and a blue wall of chakra glowed into place before becoming invisible.

A barrier seal? For me? Also I should compliment her on her skill. That barrier looks nasty.

Anyway, by the time she came back it had been a rather irritating thirty minutes. I was on the verge of bashing through the wall or something. She was making me wait on purpose I swear.

"You're awake, we were worried." The medic nin walked to the sighed of the bed and formed a sign with her hands before they glowed green. Diagnostic jutsu I assessed.

She placed it over my chest and I felt her chakra seep into my body. I didn't like it one bit, but I tried my best not to fight against it.

At my heart she frowned slightly but pulled her chakra out soon after. "You seem to be in perfect health but I want to check on you again. I'm worried you're heart has grown weak."

In simple terms.

"Sure, of course. I'm going to go find my brother now. Thanks!" I jumped out and dashed through the door before that crazy jinchuuriki could catch me. Of course she was blocking the exit before I even got close.

She smirked. "Why are you in such a rush?" She steered me towards the desk and spoke with someone for a moment. I was handed a form and I glanced over it before signing. "There are people that need to speak with you."

"Oh yeah sounds great." I mumbled as she kept pulling me. "But I need to go and speak with my brother." Also save lives, end lives oh and fix lives as well.

Kushina grabbed my shoulders and spun me around before crouching down and facing me. She peered into my eyes for a moment with a rather scary expression on her face. She was showing me she was in control here and I didn't dare disagree.

Then she broke out in a smile and pointed in a direction. "He'll be at training ground seven." And then she disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

Damn.

I want to be as cool as her.

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He found me before I found him. I didn't even realize he was following above me until he dropped down in front of me. "Hikari." He whispered.

"Kash." I broke into a smile. "Kash!" I leapt at him and in his surprise we both fell to the ground. "Oh I hate you so much but I love you so hug me you stupid huggable hedgehog!"

To his credit he understood at least half of what I rambled because he opened his arms.

I snuggled into his chest and breathed in his smell. He'd changed what he wore, still didn't have a mask yet but I was sure it wouldn't be long until he did.

"You're a bastard." I said absently as we lay in each others arms. I fluffed his hair that had grown into a bigger spiky mess. "But I still love you."

He looked as though he wanted to cry. Perhaps what I'd said on _that _day was too much. Had he been guilt ridden this whole time? Was that a good thing? "I love you too Riri."

"What'd I miss? Did you become a jounin yet? Did you get a new team yet? Did you get a girlfriend yet?" I pulled him up and danced at his side as we began to walk. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

He stuttered for a moment. "No, no and no." He glanced down at me and smiled. "We got a new house though."

I frowned. Did I want the old house? No. Please no. "What's it like?"

"Pretty cool. It's closer to the shops and the Hokage tower. More convenient. I would offer you dinner at a restaurant tonight but," Kash looked at the sky. "It's rather late. But it's okay I have some things I can make us at home."

I perked up. "Kash?"

"Yes?"

"You know how you're the best brother in the world and I love you so much?"

He eyed me. "Yakitori?"

"Extra honey on the side please!"

Kakashi sighed but nodded.

He didn't ever mention what happened to me being a crystal and all. I suppose he didn't need to. He was smart and it was pretty obvious.

The new house was very clean and very homely. It kind of shocked me really. I'd thought Kakashi wouldn't worry about decorating but he did. The apartment wasn't really an apartment. It was more of a three level house connected to more three level homes.

The bottom level was a large empty space. It was clearer being worked on, but it seemed to be the training area. Judging by all the tools lying around. The next level was the kitchen and living area. It was nice with potted plants and paintings. The sofa was of the overly soft variety.

Finally there was the bedrooms. Kakashi's was across from mine and was fairly bare. Bed, desk, closet and bookshelf. Mine was the same but had brighter colours in my favorite orange and rubies. It also had a few stuffed toys and books along with a stack of journals. Convenient.

I'd be writing a lot of important information in those.

"So." Kash pointed to my clothes. "You look gross. Go change."

I blushed in embarrassment and pointed at him accusingly. "You're face is gross!"

He shook his head and walked off.

Gosh dang Kash is going to die I freaking swear I'm going to-

"There's only kigurumis in the closet at the moment. We can get you new clothes tomorrow."

I gasped and threw open the closet.

There wasn't a kigurumi in sight, only normal clothes.

"Kakashi!" I screamed and charged out like a blood thirsty demon.

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Brother seemed to have not really worried over father's death. He just acted like he didn't care. No one had tried to help him through it. He was a chunin, technically considered an adult in by this world.

In my eyes he was eight.

So I did my best to help him through things without him knowing. I made sure to have fun with him. I cleaned the house, cooked and so forth leaving him with little to worry about.

Along with dealing with him I was working on fixing this stupid world.

I'd figured out who I wanted to train me. I needed to perfect my chakra and work on my Kekkei Genkai. That was it.

Fate had been cruel. It had given me an easy way to end problems. Like I could just walk up to Orochimaru and turn him into a crystal. After I'd practiced enough and made sure to cover for all it's weaknesses. Maybe I had to weaken the person before I converted them? Who knew.

But I couldn't heal anyone. And that was a huge disappointment.

Maybe, just maybe. I could work with the crystals somehow. But for now that dream was a distant one. It would take a long time to figure out how to apply it without killing someone.

And so, I stood in front of a door and knocked three times swiftly.

The door opened after a moment and I smiled brightly at the man. "Hello! I am Hikari Hatake. I've come to learn under your guidance."

Let's just say Hayama Shirakumo was very confused.

"Mind if I come in?" I would normally shove through but honestly I needed to keep polite. This guy didn't know me. I hardly knew him.

He blinked twice in thought then opened the door wider. I thanked him and walked inside before following him to the sitting room. "I'm sorry I didn't really know how to go about it. I need training and I didn't really know who to go to. No one could really help me with this."

"Mind if I demonstrate?" I asked and stood up.

"Do we need to go outside?" He asked a little worried.

I shook my head hurriedly. Crystal sprouted from my hands, forming two blades in each. Both looked like swords but I honestly had no idea how to make them. So hopefully this bloke could help.

The man didn't gasp, he was far too good a ninja for that. He was surprised, I could see that. I also knew he probably had knowledge of the little crystal girl.

"Impressive." He muttered and walked over to inspect them. "Do you know anything about Kenjutsu?"

I shook my head. "I don't know how to handle the blades, nor how to form them to their best. But I want to learn."

My chakra was very intricate. I doubted it would be easy to learn many complex ninjutsu. So I'd crossed that off my list. Medical jutsu was out. Genjutsu was always an option so I'd much like to study that at home. I was sure Kash would cover it in our training sessions.

Sealing was there as well, but I didn't have much knowledge with that.

And then I thought of my ability to make blades and I was like. Hell yeah I want to use swords.

"You're young but, your brother and father surely would have taught you already. I can see you've got potential." He eyed the crystal closely. "And this… Is definitely a tempting thing to explore."

Hayama was a smart man. Almost as good as Kakashi will be in assessing situations and formulating strategies. He could see the potential in me and the temptation of working with such a unique Kekkei Genkai.

I hoped that my guess would pay off.

"You will start at the academy tomorrow. When class is over you will meet me at the Hokage's tower and we will begin your training." He paused and moved his glance over to me. "I will deal with the other details. Now, how do you get rid of these blades?"

I quickly let the crystals turn to dust and before they could hit the ground they were gone. "Thank you so much Shirakumo-sensei!" I then proceeded to glomp him.

Maybe fate was being nice today. I knew he'd be a tough teacher but I'd managed to convince him pretty easily.

He patted my back then shuffled me towards the door. "Yes yes see you tomorrow Hikari-chan." And then closed the door behind me.

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I can't say that Kakashi was surprised when I asked about the academy, but he certainly hadn't expected it. Especially so soon. "Now make sure you have everything Riri."

"Calm down Kash." I tugged the strap of my pack. "Everythings in there. Books and all."

He eyed me. "Food?"

"Yup." I grinned at him. "It's just school Kash calm down. I'm not going on a mission today."

He peered at me and then pulled me in a hug. "Have fun Riri."

"I will." I pulled back. "Promise."

And then I was in class. With a chunin teacher starting on some maths problems that I shouldn't know but do know. From both my old life and this one. I'd sat confidently at the middle of the row of chairs. I paid no attention to the other students.

Of course I would observe them to judge where I sat in terms of skill. If I was behind or not. But other than that I would be too busy for much association with these kids. I'd also have to become friends with other people. So there just wasn't time.

I was kind of frustrated by the first half of the day. All we did was work on things I already knew. But I went along with it anyway.

At lunch I took out my bento and sat on a bench under a tree not far from the building.

I didn't expect to be bothered, let alone by a group of boys. One sneered at me. "What's a kid like you doing in my class?"

I blinked at him once, then went back to eating.

He didn't like that.

"Hey you! Are you stupid or something?" He went to swipe at my food but I jumped up onto the seat so he swiped at thin air.

I sighed as I placed down my delicious grilled fish. "If you're going to interrupt a meal at least be curious enough to apologies."

They all were paled as I looked up at them. Had I jumped too fast for them? Oops. "Scram."

And they did.

Well. Bullies were pretty easy to deal with. Sweet.

After lunch we finally moved onto something good. Speed and strength training. It was basic but enough to satisfy my bored muscles.

I was pleased to find I was faster than all of the other girls in my class. There were about five or so boys that beat me but I was pretty sure they were enhancing their speed with chakra. which I wasn't.

My teacher seemed impressed with me as well and he watched me closely as we moved over to kicking logs. I probably hit a little harder than normal.

But those boys actually pissed me off more than I thought.

Once that was all over I'd worked up a good sweat so we all cooled down and sat patiently as sensei stood before us. He gave us some homework, nothing serious, then sent us on our way.

I rushed to the Hokage tower and found Hayama standing, surprisingly, not in a uniform. "Today I've made arrangements to spend time with a blacksmith. He will show you a collection of his best swords and you will then proceed to practice creating them at home."

He then dropped me off with the smith and left.

Oh well, he didn't _really _need to be there I guess.

The smith never asked me anything. Simply explained to me about each of his blades. I had quite a bit of option with what I could make with my crystal, and I guess Hayama must have tipped him off about this or something.

He brought me over to a large sketchbook of his. Inside each page had either a very detailed or messy design. "Some designs are better suited for some materials. Designs also depend on your strength and speed. I suggest you try quite a few different ones before deciding."

And then to my surprise he handed the book to me. "Return it within the next few weeks. I require it for measurements on the more complicated orders."

I nodded my head and thanked him extensively before leaving and rushing home. Kakashi was back from training and cooking dinner. He peered at me, stirring a pot. "How'd everything go?"

"Good." I cracked a grin. "I scared the heck out of some bullies."

He frowned. "Bullies?"

"Yeah. Said I was too young or little I don't remember." I brushed it off and sat on the couch, pulling open the book. There was this one long sword that had fascinated me.

Kakashi interrupted me ponderings. "What's that?"

"Oh. It's a book of sword designs." I ran my fingers over a rather nasty looking dual handed sword. It had tiny spikes on it so the flesh that it hit would shred when the user pulled back.

My brother had abandoned his cooking and came to sit next to me. "Why do you have it?"

"Trying to find a blade design that I can use." I turned back to the one I was considering. "This one is medium weight but super sharp. It also has the potential for a secondary ability judging by the thickness of it."

"Secondary ability?" Kash asked trying to catch up.

I shrugged. "I'll let you know by the end of the week." I paused and looked up at him. He seemed pretty fascinated. "Do you want to take a look at this when I'm done?"

He shook his head then got up to finish dinner.

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* * *

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The first thing Hayame taught me was respect. He told me exactly how much I was to talk to him about and, most of all, not to hug him anymore.

He'd warm up to me eventually I was sure.

After that, we moved onto taijutsu. Apparently the style he'd decided was best for me, involved learning a whole bunch of new taijutsu techniques. I didn't complain.

The day ended and I doubted we'd be touching blades for quite a long time.

Hayame was an organised teacher. He managed his time very well, so my progress was rather noticeable. I'd also been waking up early to practice, which he'd actually commended me on.

Let's just say I had a large smile on my face.

My new form relied heavily on stamina. I was throwing strong hits, not too heavy but enough to smash through half a log. The speed at which he wanted me to do it was unimaginable at first but I managed it. I had to have a strong stance otherwise I'd lose my footing and slip back.

To practice this he had me first hit trees whilst standing on mud, then water.

So I had to learn chakra control at the same time.

Efficient right?

The academy was boring. Nothing new happened and it wouldn't until we progressed to our second year. Kakashi was slowly starting to do missions again and I couldn't blame him.

I'd worked out that he probably wouldn't change teams for at least one year. Perhaps more, perhaps yet. Time was slowly running out.

Anyway, as I grew more confident in my taijutsu, Hayama grew more involved. I guess I'd finally proved I wasn't a waste of time.

Kakashi didn't know much about my extra training. He knew I was trying something with swords but not enough to know how much I'd improved. So I was pretty confident when I approached him.

He'd just returned from a mission and I held up the outfit confidently. "Here's the thing. You and I haven't had a bet for quite some time so," I gestured outside. "You and me. Sparring match right now. First one to be knocked down has to wear this and tell the Hokage their leaving to pursue a new career."

Kakashi agreed instantly and we quickly rushed outside. The training room would not do for this.

"Taijutsu only Kash." I paused. "With the exception of Kunai and shuriken."

"Got it." He stretched his arms whilst I took a defensive stance.

He threw his kunai first, starting the attack. I didn't bother hitting it away with my kunai I simply formed crystal on my hand and hit it away.

"No fair!" Kakashi cried then charged at me. He jumped last second and aimed a kick for my head. I sidestepped it easily and aimed a swift three punches to his stomach. I missed the first to but I got the last off as he tried to stick a landing. He skidded back and held his hand to his stomach.

I took the same defensive stance. "I'm not holding back."

This time I went at him. I made it seem as though I was going to jump but instead I slid and came up behind him. I swiftly moved to kicked out his knee.

Before I could he whipped around and blocked my leg, he then grabbed it and flipped me around. I rode the movement and in turn rolled forward, bringing my feet up to catch his chin.

He was knocked back a few steps and I quickly regained my balance to charge at him. This was it.

Seven strong punches, one after another, hitting his chest and forearms if he blocked on time. By the end of it I jumped back into a defensive stance and tried to regain my breath.

Kakashi was a chunin. So I shouldn't be surprised that he was still standing.

He looked like he'd been run over by a mob of fangirls though.

I was exhausted and he was clearly hurting. I had to push through so I spun forward with a kick and caught his left leg. It flew out from under him and he crashed to the ground.

I'd won.

I celebrated my victory for a moment before checking on Kash. "How you doing?" I pulled him up and he dusted himself off.

"Riri that was nice." He winced when his hand brushed a tender spot. "But it hurt."

I frowned. "Sorry. Let's get you inside and check on everything."

I'm sort of proud and guilty to say I did more damage than I thought. He had to go to a medic nin. Oopsie.

None the less he stuck to the bet and we were soon standing in front of the Hokage. Kakashi released his henge and bam.

"I'm sorry Hokage. But I'm leaving the village so I can become a full time entertainer." Then he cracked out the maracas and I officially died laughing.

The Hokage seemed to get what was going on and he started laughing to. Kakashi just stood there and acted like he was bored out of his mind.

Haha Kakashi even had a fake moustache on! With a sombrero and poncho it was the most adorable and funny thing at the same time! Brother would never wear that without my 'encouragement'.

"Normally I would punish you for wasting my time but this is what I needed." The Hokage said as he wiped tears out of his eyes. "Thank you Hikari."

I was kind of stunned he knew who I was. But then I realised he must know Kakashi and I looked a hell of a lot like him. "It was no problem Hokage-sama. Thank you for indulging my crazy brother."

Perhaps the Hokage wasn't so bad.

Now the village just needed to learn from him.

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**Please answer the poll on my profile!**


	7. Growing V: Forming of a tool

******Summary**: To be strong is not necessarily in reference to having power and/or strength. It's possible that it could mean to be fearless, to be impavid. OC self insert.

Poll is closed. We're sticking with three months!

**THANK** YOU everyone who has read, faved, followed and reviewed! xoxox Also a special thanks to **Mar**You're awesome! XOXOXO to you all!

**CHECK **out the EPIC fanart by AnimeFreakArtist! (link should be up on my profile) Awesome fairy Kakashi and Mexican Kakashi! So cute and adorable!

**I DO NOT own Naruto. Only the idea of my OC.**

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_What is the best thing to do when you have a hole in a boat and water is leaking inside? Make another hole to drain the water._

_~Anonymous_

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Kash wasn't improving as fast as I wanted him to. He was… different. That I knew. He acted nicer to me than he did most people. Well, warmer to me. He was so damn business like with everyone. I'd tried to talk with him about Sakumo but he'd always just leave.

Literally. He used substitution with a plant once.

I shared a disappointed glance with the cactus.

I was patient. I would wait for him to figure things out for himself. I just hoped it wouldn't take too long.

My skills were improving at a rather satisfying rate. I hoped that it was enough.

At five in the morning I rolled out of bed, stuffing my mouth with food as I hastily got changed and left the house. If Kakashi wasn't away on missions or special training he would often join me in my morning routine, or be gone on his, not long before me.

The training grounds weren't far, but I'd need to find a new place to train soon enough. My crystals could be quite destructive.

I began with stretches then a quick jog around the field. After that I meditated to help calm my chakra. It honestly did nothing but I liked to do it anyway. My chakra itself was easily controllable when I wanted to do something with crystals.

But if I wanted to make a clone or even a simple substitution it took far more effort than it should. I wasn't sure if I was just bad at chakra control or my chakra was stubborn.

It only liked taking one shape and doing one thing.

After my meditation was over I began with my experimental training. There were no scrolls labeled 'How to perfect your crystal ability' so I kind of just messed around.

I'd done research. Lots of it. Crystal release technique had been mentioned in one _very_ rare scroll. A supposed Earth release technique that involved crystals was also once mentioned in another scroll.

And that was it.

Sadly.

So I'd moved on, trying to incorporate what I could learn about Earth release techniques into my training. But really it didn't help much.

I already understood that I could convert most substances. Through my training I'd tried many things, like turning my chakra itself into crystal.

Firstly, because I wanted to see if I could stop people from using their chakra. If it was crystal I assumed it wouldn't be able to be used. And secondly because I was infuriated with my chakra at the time.

But, alas, nothing happened.

So it seemed chakra was impervious to my ability. Which made sense because it had no physical matter like water or earth.

Anyway, I dusted off my pants and shook my arms before looking to my left.

It was time to have some fun.

Focusing chakra into my palms I released it into the earth. It raced forward and shot up, swirling and combining. Before my eyes a giant crystal formed casting a ruby glow over the ground.

If I wanted to keep the crystal there, it would take a miniscule amount of my chakra each moment. But comparing that to the oddly large chakra reserve I had it was nothing.

Next I clasped my hands together, forming a simple hand seal to help concentrate my chakra. Slowly my chakra flows to my feet and I expel it in a large wave.

The ground is soon covered in rough crystal, trapping anything that was on the ground.

Including my feet.

I groan and face palm before concentrating again. The crystal encasing my feet turns to dust and I step out of it.

The field is now mostly covered in crystal, the perfect place for me to battle.

I had found out quickly that crystals were practically a part of me. I could feel and sense anything close to them and manipulate them to my will from long distances. If an opponent came anywhere close right now I would simply encase them. Hopefully.

My chakra was slowly draining but I decided to go all out. I swiftly formed another concentration seal and five more crystal pillars surrounded me.

In a last ditch effort I formed a giant crystal mountain.

It wasn't of the best quality, but it looked so cool.

There was a very tall tree nearby and I moved to sit on a branch, surveying my work.

The crystal reflected quite a lot, especially if I'd put a lot of effort into it's quality. I dared to guess that it would confuse even the Byakugan.

Before I ran out of time I quickly stopped supplying the crystal masterpieces with chakra and all of them slowly collapsed. The mountain was a real pity to see gone.

* * *

It seemed that even though some of the children in my class were of clan heritage, they were not training very hard. I surpassed them in speed, strength and intelligence a few weeks before the half-year test.

Even without enhancing my muscles with chakra.

The teacher easily noticed this, and word began to spread. I did not like the attention. There was too much to be done and if people were watching me it would only make it harder.

Firstly, I most definitely needed to get close to Kushina and Minato. That would be difficult, but I had a suspicion that Kushina… was watching me.

The Hokage wasn't stupid. If he saw an opportunity he would take it. My unique ability was not something he'd turn a blind eye too. There wasn't much he could do of course, perhaps push me to become a genin sooner than most.

I knew of the upcoming war It would be around the time I became genin, perhaps later.

So it would make sense that he'd try to have a spy on me.

And if she'd seen me practicing and told the Hokage…

Let's just say I had to stay low. I didn't much want to be the Hokage's toy.

But… If what I suspected of Kushina was true...

When I went for my training with Hayama I did my best to sense for her chakra. It'd be most likely she'd either watch my morning training or afternoon training. Observing the Academy wouldn't provide her with much information.

There was… something. I'd always been fairly sensitive to others chakra because it was just so _different_ from mine. It stood out like white in a field of black.

So there was one chakra signature that seemed to be following me, but it was compressed. They were trying to hide.

Should I confront them? Hayama would be mad if I was late.

I sighed and boosted my legs with chakra and suddenly turned a corner. I couldn't see the person, no doubt they were using a henge, but I could feel them. My legs aimed to collide with the invisible follower only for them to dodge at the last second.

Having done much training, I confidently twisted my body mid air to land in a crouch on the ground. "I don't wish to be spied on. If you want to watch what I'm doing don't hide. I don't care if you watch most things, but I want you to ask for permission first."

The figures chakra suddenly hit me full force and I jumped back in surprise, pulling out a kunai in defence. Was this person actually a threat?

But the air quivered a moment before the henge was released and there she stood. Kushina started with only a slightly sheepish glint in her eye. "You found me."

I shrugged. "I did." And then I turned and sprinted towards Hayama who hopefully wouldn't kill me for being late.

* * *

Kushina wasn't at all embarrassed as she stood at the edges of the field watching me. It was slightly unsettling, being in the presence of such a great ninja.

But I figured she must have watched me every now and then, why would my attitude change now?

Then again, she was _right _there.

"Focus. Your grip is slipping." Hayama called up to me.

I paled and quickly adjusted my stance before pounding into the crystal again.

Yup I was hitting my own crystals now, and I was upside down.

Pretty _freaking awesome._

My hands were red and raw. They were cut on multiple locations from the sharp edges of the crystal I'd ruined. My arms were tired and my feet were numb from the chakra I'd poured into them to hold me upside down.

So when Kushina requested I spar against her I practically fainted.

Hayama being the coward he was, slowly snuck away.

I refused of course and she looked deflated for a moment. "Sorry I just don't have time-"

She slammed into my side, her speed amazing me. I was thrown off balance and landed clumsily on the ground. I coughed and sputtered as the dust cleared around me.

Then I was being tugged upright by my hair.

I clawed at her but she just laughed and held a kunai to my throat. "Too easy."

Perhaps if I wasn't so damn proud I would have let her win. Then I could have gone home and had a nice long bath. But no. "I didn't know you were so crazy." Well she kinda was...

I focused and soon crystal formed on the tip of her kunai, it spread rapidly and before she noticed it her whole hand was covered.

She stared at it and I poured more chakra into it until her whole arms were basically useless. "Don't you dare call me crazy."

There was a chance she could escape from my bindings, but she hadn't seemed to bother trying.

Her threat was lost when I encased her feet and soon both her legs. "I'll be going now. I hope you won't spy on me again but I doubt the Hokage will be pleased with you if you don't." Then I jumped away and waited until I got home to release her from my bind.

Let's just say Kushina was not pleased with me.

* * *

Even though I was kind of expecting it, when Kushina showed up to my training a few weeks later I paled. She was just standing there. Staring at me.

I shuddered before returning to what I was doing.

Trying my best to put thoughts of Kushina attacking me from behind I sat down and focused. Five condensed balls of crystal formed in front of me, using the moisture in the air. I swiftly morphed them so that they were sharper than needles and launched them at the wall I'd made in front of me.

Crystal met crystal and the wall shattered. I stared for a moment, trying to comprehend what I'd just done. Then I jumped up and hollered loudly, doing a little jig.

I'd spent the last few weeks working on my concentration and focus. To be able to make crystals that sharp and that strong, so strong they could shatter one of my best defensive walls, it was a huge breakthrough. Um. Pun…?

And to break up my little party I reminded myself that I'd had to sit, close my eyes and change the form of the crystal. I should be able to just materialize them straight away as needles. Currently, it was a very dangerous technique to use on the battlefield.

"Well, time to train again." I mumbled cheerlessly and formed a hand seal.

I would practice each day until I had this jutsu perfected.

Perhaps I'd overdone it. The twenty needles I'd made went through the wall and into the forest surrounding the field. Before I could get up and assess the damage I was smacked heavily on the back of my head.

I flew forward barely managing to right myself from the sudden hit. I turned to see Kushina standing with a smirk on her face. "The trees told me to do that."

"Pardon?" I rubbed my head absently and stared at her with a frown on my face.

She grinned wider. "I used chakra with that."

"I can tell." I groaned, dropping to the ground. _Crazy tomato headed kunoichi._

Kushina was sitting by my side in an instant and I startled. She held up her hand, holding what seemed to be one of my crystal needles. "How did you figure out how to do this?"

I shrugged. There wasn't much to go on, mostly I'd just wanted a very focused attack. "I analysed senbon but they weren't very good to go on. These needles aren't as refined but they're sharper." I gestured to her hand.

"You're very… ambitious." She observed then turned to me. "You're right in your assumption. The Hokage would not be pleased if I stopped spying on you."

Shame. I was getting sick of being spied on. "What's he want you to find?"

"He just wants me to observe your progress and… special ability." She took a moment to find the right word before winking at me. "Don't tell him I said that okay? Or else he'd kill me! -ttebane!"

I blinked. So she did share a similar speech impediment. "Don't worry, I won't tell him anything." Maybe I was being a bit too serious with her. She seemed really nice if you ignored all the spying and hitting. "By the way it'd be less annoying for me if u just… stood next to me when I trained."

"Sure." She beamed at me. "Can you make me a chair with your crystals? -ttebane."

Well. In reality I could but… "Okay. It won't be very comfortable."

It _was_ an odd request. "That's fine! I'll bring some cushions. Oh! Do you like ramen Hikari-chan?" She grinned eagerly at me.

"I haven't had ramen before." I said simply and her mouth dropped.

And then the screeching began. "How could you not have had ramen yet! -ttebane! It's the most delicious food, it's salty and the meat! Kami the meat! We must go have some now before you go to academy!"

Just like that Kushina grabbed a hold of my arm and we were moving. Moving so fast that my eyes couldn't keep up. Was this some sort of teleportation jutsu? Before I could figure it out we had stopped and my stomach lurched.

She held my arm to steady me and I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. "That was too fast and too sudden. Please don't do that again so suddenly Kushina-sama."

Kushina nodded but her thoughts were clearly elsewhere as she strode forward. I joined her at the stand and looked about. It smelled quite nice and I could see the man as he cooked. "Two Tonkotsu with shinachiku please! Make them extra large!"

Her voice rang out in the small space but the chef grins at her. "Ah! Kushina-sama! I haven't seen you for a while!"

"I know it's nearly been a week!" She laughed and the two exchanged friendly conversation before he went back to work.

I turned to the red headed woman and narrowed my eyes. "So exactly what have you been telling the Hokage?"

Her eyes widened before she went into a loud sheepish laugh. "Oh Hikari-chan you know! Nothing interesting! -ttebane!"

"Are you sure?" I asked sceptically.

For a moment I thought she would tell me everything, but then her eyes snapped behind me and she lifted me hand, gasping. "Is that the legendary ghost of Konoha?"

I frowned and turned, seeing nothing. "There's nothing there.."

And Kushina was gone.

"Too bad hey kid? Oh well, at least you get both bowls." He slid them towards me and my eyes widened. They were huge.

I looked up at the man. "Think I could get one in a takeaway bowl? I don't think I could eat it all myself."

He grinned. "Sure kid let me just-"

One of the bowls had been emptied. A single noodle sat at the bottom.

Wha-

did Kushina-

"Huh."

* * *

After another long and boring week at the academy I went home excited because Kash was returning from hi mission today. I unlocked the door with my free hand and kicked it in. "Kash I brought dinner! I hope you like ramen!"

Yes I'd bought ramen before coming home. It was so utterly delicious though, perhaps even more than my faved yakitori.

Kakashi wasn't in the living area so I put all my stuff on the table and dashed upstairs. I found him lying in his bed.

A huge grin grew on my face and I jumped high into the air before landing on top of him with a hug. "Kakashi! You're home!~" I sung happily.

He coughed as he pushed me off him and sat up, wheezing to try and catch his breath. I beamed at him. "Hurry up, dinners gonna go cold!" Then I was downstairs serving everything and putting my homework near the stairs so I remembered to do it later.

"You know, there are _nicer_ ways to wake and greet your brother." He grumbled as he shuffled into the room.

I waved my hand in dismissal. "Yeah but those aren't as fun nor as quick."

He glowered at me. "If you haven't grown to be the most evil girl."

"_The most evil_? Aw! You're too kind Kash!" I shoved his bowl to him as he sat and dug into mine. "I got the miso this time. I think I like it more."

Kakashi stared at the bowl for a bit. "Ramen? We've never had ramen."

"Nope. Dig in before it gets cold hedgehog." I teased and slurped from my soda.

He looked at it curiously before taking a large mouthful. Then he chewed and chewed and chewed. "It's nice."

"Go on?" I prompted.

"I'd be happy to have ramen again." He nodded to himself.

I nearly jumped out of the table. "Yes! You have seen the greatness in ramen! You will be a slave to its deliciousness for the rest of your existence!"

"Are you okay Hikari?" Kakashi asked somewhat concerned.

I shrugged. "Someone hit me _really _hard on the head last week. Maybe I have brain damage."

He snicked. "You've _always _been brain damaged."

"Wait. What's that supposed to mean!" I screeched into his face, aiming to hurt his sensitive hearing.

I was rewarded when he rubbed his ear. "Well. I guess I have to explain it to you. You _are _an idiot after all."

"Damn you." I said and crossed my arms as I leaned back on my chair.

He smirked and went back to eating.

Well at least he liked the ramen. It saves me having to cook. Then again I could always learn.

Once we were done I went ahead and took the dishes to be washed. Kakashi followed silently behind me and leaned against the counter. "So, hows academy been going?"

"Good. It's pretty boring." I shrugged.

He nodded. "Well I've heard you've been doing really well. Top of your class."

"Keeping an eye on me brother?" I tilted my head at him.

"Maybe." He shrugged as though it wasn't obvious. "And you've been doing training on the side right?"

I nodded hesitantly. How much should I tell him and did it matter? "You know what I do in the morning and in the afternoon I train with my Shiso although he prefers to be called sensei."

"Shiso?" Kakashi asks just hearing about this.

"Yes. He's teaching me in the ways of kenjutsu." Still had to get to the actual blades part but I was getting there. Start of next year most likely. At least that's what Hayama told me.

Kakashi was suddenly in front of me and he scratched his head. "You know you don't have to… Try so hard. You don't have any pressure on you from me or anyone else."

Huh. If only he knew. I had to change the world. "I know. But I want to become a strong kunoichi." I frowned. "You're not _scared _for me are you?"

He started and smiles sheepishly. "You're my little sister. It's my responsibility to look after you."

I chuckled. "Says someone who served raw chicken once. You're lucky I caught that."

"It wasn't raw! It was just slightly undercooked!" He protested.

"Sure. Next thing you're going to tell me is that you didn't serve burnt beef." I giggled. "How do you burn something so badly on the outside, but still have it raw in the middle?"

Then I got the hell out of the room before Kakashi snapped my neck.

Or worse.

* * *

The half year test rolled round and the day it was on Hayama told me we wouldn't be training. I suppose that was fair, I hadn't missed a day of training so far, and the day would be running late. I wouldn't get out until past dark.

First was the written test which all students participated in at the same time. I took mine and read through the first question. It was analytical, asking about the Konoha layout. After that there were a few mathematical questions involving scenarios.

My favorite question was the one that asked for the ranks of Konoha shinobi. I filled that in swiftly before finishing the test and turning it over. I looked around and my eyes landed on the clock.

Twenty minutes left, sweet.

I sighed and stretched before leaning my head on the desk and closing my eyes. I wasn't really going to fall asleep but I didn't much want to watch every other kid complete the test.

After that was all over we were shuffled out of the room and told to wait in the hall. One by one they called in students and I wondered what they were going to ask for. Certainly not a jutsu, we had barely scratched the surface of even harnessing our chakra.

So maybe they would want to look at our stances? The academy basic technique wasn't what I used anymore since I had perfected it a few months ago. Hayama had me using a different style as soon as possible.

Satisfied that was what we were going to be asked about, I walked into the room and immediately froze.

Kushina was in the room. Why the hell was Kushina in the room? "Hello Hikari chan. Please perform the substitution jutsu."

I bowed. "My apologies Kushina-sama. But we have yet to learn that technique in class."

She shrugged before smiling sinisterly. "I know. Perform it anyway."

Well. Damn. So much for laying low. I nodded swiftly and focused my chakra.

Ram. Boar. Oxe. Dog. Snake.

I swiftly replaced myself with one of the desk chairs and stood at the other side of the room. Kushina turned before nodding approvingly. "We will continue with the transformation jutsu now."

"I'm sorry Kushina-sama, but is this really necessary-"

"The Hokage is very well informed of your abilities Hikari-chan. He wants to advance you a few years in the academy." Kushina explained.

This… wasn't a good sign. On one hand I needed to become a genin as soon as possible, so this was a good thing. On the other hand it seemed like the Hokage wanted to use me for something. Perhaps in the upcoming war.

My abilities would certainly be useful.

So I had two options.

Take advantage of this. Or not.

I sighed. What did it matter if I was a tool to the Hokage? It still helped Naruto and Kakashi in the end right?

Dog. Boar. Ram.

There was a poof of smoke before I stood as Kushina herself.

The kunoichi startled and I walked closer so she could inspect the henge. "These jutsu's took me a long time to master. Lots of hard work and frustrating hours. It's unlikely I'll ever be able to use jutsu's that are ranked any higher than C-rank."

"And why is that?" Kushina asked quietly.

I shrugged. "My chakra is outrageously stubborn." _Even more stubborn than Kakashi._

She gave a short nod. "That's enough for today Hikari, unless you wish to show me the clone jutsu?"

Hell. Might as well go all out. "They aren't perfect." I warned before releasing my henge and then performing the hand seals.

Ram. Snake. Tiger.

Two clones poofed into existence. Their apparel was wrong and both were missing shoes. One also had the wrong colored hair. "Well. I'm working on it."

Kushina bit her lip as the clones dissipated. "Alright. You can go ahead to lunch now Hikari."

I nodded and dashed out of the room, not wanting to be stuck in a room with Kushina much longer.

I'd packed myself a hefty lunch but after this morning I didn't really want to eat. I took tiny bites out of the fish as I watched the students slowly file out of the building.

Kushina was so confusing. Was she nice sometimes simply because she wanted to get information out of me? It didn't seem like she was trying anything at the ramen stand.

Either way I needed to become her friend. I needed to protect her, keep her alive. Naruto's life would be far better if Kushina lived. At least I thought.

_Anything for Naruto_. I sighed and headed back into the classroom.

Kushina wasn't there, just our normal instructor. He explained how we would be doing spars now and he pulled out a list and began pairing everyone off. I eyed everyone in the room but it was just my classmates. I'd never had any problems in the spars during class so I wasn't too worried.

But when I was the last one in the room and the instructor left… I began to worry.

Kushina walked in after a few moments and I gulped. "You're not going to spar against me are you?"

She grinned.

I began to shake.

"Actually no. I'm to observe a match between you and someone else." She said simply.

"Who?" I frowned. "Who am I versing?"

The door burst open in a blur of green and orange. "Hello my rather jewel eyed opponent! My name is Might Guy! Konoha's sublime green beast of prey!"

"Um. Hello." I looked to Kushina for help but she was just whistling and looking out the window. "My name is Hatake Hikari."

Guy was suddenly right in front of me. "Such a beautiful name for a sweet little girl." He boasted.

"What?" I asked bluntly.

He grinned. "Why Hikari-chan! Do you not see how young and vibrant you are! With your-"

"Guy!" Kushina finally interrupted. "Escort Hikari to the grounds out back."

Guy bowed. "Of course Uzumaki-sama!" Then he marched out of the room without bothering to wait for me.

Kushina nodded her head towards guy's direction and I took that as my cue to leave.

If Guy was my opponent I was basically screwed. Unless I was allowed to incapacitate him with my crystals? Hell Guy would probably be able to break through my crystals with his bare teeth.

So. I was going to get my butt whooped.

* * *

I didn't exactly notice just how much _bigger_ he was than me until he was soaring at me with a flying kick. I mean. Why did I want to become a ninja again? If I was going to be fighting people like this…

Cringing I lifted my forearms up in a cross to block the kick only to be sent flying back and landing harshly on my back. Oh my gosh he was so strong! "Hikari-chan impressive reaction time. But are you okay?"

"Yep." I coughed and bent over trying to breath.

Of course he only took that as an invitation and I barely rolled out of the way in time. His fist collided with the ground I'd just been on and the ground shuddered.

I'm going to die!

I jumped up and ran, screaming whilst Guy chased me around the field. "Hikari-chan this is disappointing behavior but perhaps a valiant strategy! You will tire me out before striking with a final blow!"

And then he increased his speed and caught up to me almost instantly. He aimed a punch for my face.

Well. This was it.

I was dead.

Dead.

But then again…

This punch didn't look _so _bad.

I raised my arm and slapped away the blow. Automatically I lifted my leg and flipped around, aiming a kick to his side. He bent down and blocked it with his forearm and I swiftly rolled around to his side and tried to punch his gut.

He blocked that and in return hit my chest with my palm. I went rolling along the ground, protecting my head with my arms. Eventually I slowed down enough to flip myself and I stood holding my arm.

Guy began advancing on me again and I looked around frantically. There weren't any options. None at all. "Hey!'

My head snapped in Kushina's direction. "You can go all out now!"

All out?

As in 'all out' all out?

Guy aimed a kick at my knees but I simply encased my leg with crystal.

With a sickening sound his leg collided with the crystal and the crystal shattered but my leg remained safe.

He pulled back, balancing on one leg. "An unexpected challenge for Konoha's green beast!"

Gotta hand it to him. He had a lot of spirit. "Don't be too upset after this okay?"

And then I encased everything but his face in crystal.

Kushina walked over and inspected my work. "You know. That's really cool."

"Yep." I managed two ragged breaths before blacking out.

* * *

**CHECK **out the EPIC fanart by AnimeFreakArtist! (link should be up on my profile) Awesome fairy Kakashi and Mexican Kakashi! So cute and adorable!

_~Anyone wanna be my beta... xoxox... :c...~_


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